The nationwide lockdown would continue in some form or the other even after May 17. This post attempts to analyze if lockdowns were effective to fight the COVID 19 pandemic. To be sure, when the Government decided to lock down on 24th March, it had no other acceptable alternative. The response was based on an …
The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES) was launched on 28th March 2020. Its immediate purpose is to raise funds for fighting the novel coronavirus or COVID-19. Quite expectedly, the opposition parties started raising queries about the need for such a fund, when the PM National Relief Fund (PMNRF) …
The lockdown enforced to tackle the outbreak of the pandemic halted economic activity across the country. This has hit the revenues of the states. This was the reason, the states were keen to open liquor shops despite concerns that social distancing norms would not be followed. Before going into detail of taxes on alcohol, let …
Why were the states in a rush to open liquor shops? Read More »
The pictures of the migrant workers walking hundreds of kilometers with families and kids have become the defining images of India’s fight against corona. The lockdown enforced due to the coronavirus outbreak led to a mass exodus of migrant workers from the cities to villages. It has exposed the extreme vulnerability of migrant laborers in …
While the world is reeling under a coronavirus pandemic, there has been a lot of noise about China’s ‘wet markets’. Countries have appealed to China for the closure of the same. The source of COVID-19 is unclear. Though, there is some evidence that the virus originated from bats, passed on to pangolins, and then humans. …
The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown has severely impacted economic activities across the world. As per the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, the global economy is expected to contract sharply by –3 % in 2020. This makes it the worst recession since the Great Depression, and far worse than the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. [You may …
What is SDR? Why US and India opposed new SDR allocation? Read More »
India changed its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules to curb opportunistic takeovers/ acquisitions of Indian companies amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This is clearly a move directed towards China. The pandemic has caused stock markets around the world to collapse. As the share prices of companies are down and they are struggling due to cash-flows issues, …