Responding to the COVID-19 crisis : policy priorities for India

Abstract

The enormous disruption of economic activity in the wake of Covid-19 is accompanied by great uncertainty about the spread and eventual prevention of the pandemic and the possibility of extended or intermittent lockdowns. In addition to the immediate health crisis and the potential life-threatening implications for the majority of India’s casual workforce in the unorganized sector, this uncertainty has a bearing on both global and intra-national trade and investment besides disrupting regional and domestic supply-chains. In this column, we look at some policy priorities for the government to stabilize the economy in the short-run and to bring it on a path of recovery in the medium to long-run.