THE AGE OF THE NEOLIBERAL VIRUS
Introduction The coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease is the first neoliberal virus in the world. To say so is not to reduce its dangers but to criticize how it has been confronted by most governments across the world. Criticism: Hits and misses On March 12, Denmark largely shut down for at least two weeks, […]
END THE HARASSMENT OF FARMERS NOW
Why in news? An order dated March 28 said all agricultural, horticultural activities and those relating to harvesting, transportation, procurement, mandis, farming operations and the like are exempted from the lockdown. The order was made so that “harvesting would continue uninterrupted”. The exempted categories included “agencies engaged in procurement of agriculture products, including MSP operations; […]
HARMONISING WITH NATURE
Introduction and examples of learning from crisis Aristotle Onassis counselled, “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” So, even as we, along with millions of our fellow citizens, observe the curfew while under a lockdown, this hiatus offers a rare opportunity to reflect and take the long view. […]
THE PANDEMIC AND THE CONTOURS OF A HEALTH RESPONSE
India’s worries India is facing the worst public health crisis in its independent history which pales the earlier ones such as AIDS, SARS and H1N1 into insignificance. The speed at which the virus entered the country and the multiple challenges it has posed before the people and the government are unprecedented. While the initial response […]
WANTED, A COLLECTIVE NATIONAL ENDEAVOUR
Some excerpts from the article on “What can be done?” We are all in it together and representatives of all political parties should work together to deal with what we are told is the severest crisis since Independence. The Centre must have the State Governments as equal partners while taking decisions. The most productive effort […]
EXPLAINED: ARMED FORCES IN CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK BATTLE
Why in news? As the Army moves in to take over the COVID-19 quarantine facility at Narela in Delhi, the procedure for calling the armed forces to help the civil administration is in the spotlight. What is the procedure? The regulations permit civil authorities to requisition the Army for controlling law and order, maintaining essential […]
TEAM INDIA AND WINNING THE PANDEMIC BATTLE
Self-reliance is the way India has to chart its own strategy, whether it is in planning a staged release from the lockdown or in developing domestic capacity for medical equipment. There will be a need for scientific and economic cooperation with the rest of the world, but self-reliance is the rudder that must steer our […]
LIMITING TRANSMISSION IN HOTSPOTS WITH WIDER TRACING AND TESTING STRATEGY
Why in news? Even after the Health Ministry on March 28 acknowledged on its website that there was “limited community transmission”, India’s national taskforce for COVID-19 continues to deny it. Now, a paper in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, by ICMR and Health Ministry researchers, provides evidence of community transmission in 36 districts in […]
DONALD TRUMP THREATENS TO STOP MONEY TO WHO
Why in news? On 7th April, President Donald Trump threatened to freeze US funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), saying the international group had “missed the call” on the coronavirus pandemic. Trump’s views Trump said the body had “called it wrong” on COVID-19 and that it was very “Chinacentric” in its approach. He suggested that […]
WILL COVID-19 AFFECT THE COURSE OF GLOBALISATION?
With several countries and regions locked down, will there be a redrawing of geographical boundaries? Much of what we saw in terms of global integration of trade and finance would suffer in the short run. When the world was hit by economic recession in 2008, trade dipped by almost 10% in 2009 when there was […]