WITH THE COVID-19 SHOCK PUSHING A tanking economy into recession, an unusual response from the state was expected. The government’s policy response cannot but entail a sharp increase in expenditure to cope with the medical fallout and the “sudden stop” in a wide range of economic activities that the virus attack has imposed. That response had to come primarily from the Centre, which has far greater fiscal flexibility than State governments, whose revenue receipts are under strain for multiple reasons and which are subject to stringent borrowing limits.
Workers without regular employment displaced from their jobs have to be provided transfers in kind and cash so that they can manage themselves and their families. Expenditure on testing, tracking and tracing; on protection for the medical workforce; and on ramped-up isolation and treatment facilities for the infected has to be substantial. Measures to ring-fence production of essential commodities to ensure that supplies are adequate and shortages do not lead to social chaos will need some financial backing. Some industries and economic activities must be supported with transfers to ensure that they are in a position to return to business when normalcy returns. And the government may consider raising expenditures to spur demand and trigger a recovery after the virus attack moderates and production is restored. Overall, therefore, this is not a situation demanding just conventional “stimulus” spending. Enhanced outlays are required first for tackling a public health emergency, for providing relief to the poor and the economically vulnerable who are being devastated by the shock and the responses to it, and for restoring normalcy in production and supply, and only then for stimulating a recovery.
This story is from the April 24, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.
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This story is from the April 24, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.
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How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
