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This is a thread on India's responses to the #Covid_19 pandemic. Ranging from relief and stimulus packages in response to specific challenges that India faces, plus confirmed health/epidemiological information from experts. #Covid_19india
. @VidyaKrishnan: "Through modern Indian history, the govt’s outlook on public health has largely been limited to damage control..As the example of tuberculosis makes clear, even at that the government has very often failed." https://caravanmagazine.in/health/india-coronavirus-crisis-was-in-the-making
A thread by @Schandillia on the Indian government and its various party establishments' unscientific and misleading claims in fighting the pandemic. https://twitter.com/Schandillia/status/1243986025455554562
Advocate, Kunal Tandon on the legal framework behind curfews, quarantines and lockdowns. Very useful primer. https://www.barandbench.com/columns/coronavirus-the-legal-framework-behind-lockdown-curfew-and-quarantine
. @kikumbhar (history and science of medicine) on the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. https://thewire.in/health/epidemic-diseases-act-india-pandemic
GoI announced a relief package on March 27th which according to them is as high as Rs 1.7 lakh crore ($22.5 billion). Sharing some important points from a discussion on @BloombergQuint with @Jayati1609, M. Govinda Rao, Rahul Bajoria and Reetika Khera.
- Relief package worth Rs 0.8% of India's current nominal GDP
- Additional in-kind transfers in the PDS such as 5kg more of rice and wheat and 1kg more of pulses.
- Several cash transfers to marginalised groups of population, especially elderly, disabled and widowed women.
- EPFO
- Additional in-kind transfers in the PDS such as 5kg more of rice and wheat and 1kg more of pulses.
- Several cash transfers to marginalised groups of population, especially elderly, disabled and widowed women.
- EPFO
Jayati Ghosh says that the govt has not responded adequately to the scale of the crisis. While front-loading of in-kind transfers is welcome, none of the measures account for the fact that people cannot work and earn even if they wanted to because of the lockdown.
Ghosh also says that the relief measures don't consider the severe disruptions to supply chains and distribution networks of farmers.
Rahul Bajoria (Barclays): Countries like Singapore have announced stimulus packages of upto 8-9% of GDP mostly in the form of support for payrolls, making lines of credit available and moratorium on interest payments. Need more monetary and fiscal support.
M. Govinda Rao (14th Finance Commission): Most of the items are front-loading of existing schemes, not sure about the claimed size of the relief measure. The Economic Taskforce or Min of Finance or PMO can do more to co-ordinate with states on relief packages.
Rao also calls for a relaxation of fiscal deficit targets for the states as tax devolution is likely to be lower in this fiscal year.
Reetika Khera: Should suspend not just Aadhaar-based biometric attendances in offices, but also Aadhaar-based authentications in ration distribution to prevent community spread of the #Covid_19india virus. While targeting women for relief measures is welcome, it would have been..
...better served if targeted to NREGA job card holders' families instead of Jan Dhan account holders as there won't be risk of duplication in the former and the latter are not the worst affected population group. SHG loans and MNREGA wage hikes have no meaning during a lockdown.
Following these announcements by the GoI, RBI announced a set of monetary policy measures. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/booster-shot-for-covid-battle/story-89S7YKeoVQUAdb3jmw2poN.html
Around Rs 3.7 lakh crore worth of liquidity through various means.
(i) Repo rate cut of 75 bps
(ii) Borrowing limit raised through Marginal Standing Facility to 3% of Statutory Liquidity Ratio
(iii) Cut in Cash Reserve Ratio by 1 percentage point
(i) Repo rate cut of 75 bps
(ii) Borrowing limit raised through Marginal Standing Facility to 3% of Statutory Liquidity Ratio
(iii) Cut in Cash Reserve Ratio by 1 percentage point
(iv) Mortgage holidays for 3 months (till June 30th) during which interest will accumulate, but payable later.
(v) Cut in reverse repo by 90 bps which is 15bps more than the repo cut to ensure that banks lend from the newly available inflow instead of parking it with RBI.
(v) Cut in reverse repo by 90 bps which is 15bps more than the repo cut to ensure that banks lend from the newly available inflow instead of parking it with RBI.
There is a potential benefit from all of this, with the risk being that we repeat the mistakes from 2008. Relaxation of NPA norms through the moratorium extending indefinitely till we further inflate the NPA crisis.
Additional risk in the absence of targeting of such a moratorium is that the newly infused capital might be parked with undeserving firms that were insolvent prior to the pandemic. It might be better served if it goes to firms facing a liquidity crisis instead.
A gaping hole among all of these measures is that there is literally nothing for migrant workers which number over 100 million in India. #Covid19India https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/03/india-coronavirus-covid19-narendra-modi/608896/
As @anumayhem's report shows: 90% of workers in India are in a work organization that makes them susceptible to all sorts of vulnerabilities. https://thewire.in/labour/migrant-contract-workers-coronavirus-lockdown
Millions of migrants are walking back home. Across states. Hundreds of kilometres. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/world/asia/coronavirus-india-migrants.html
Here is @someshjha7's thread from Anand Vihar bus station in Delhi. At a time when we are supposed to be isolating ourselves with sufficient storage of food and other essential items. https://twitter.com/someshjha7/status/1243967548992835590
The abrupt call for a lockdown in addition to the cancellation of transport has led migrants to literally walk back home for hundreds of kilometres. They are dying on the way. https://thewire.in/rights/coronavirus-national-lockdown-migrant-workers-dead
. @Deshdeep_India's photo from Ghaziabad. https://twitter.com/Deshdeep_India/status/1243877287872712705
The police are marking these 'violators' of the lockdown by writing on their foreheads. https://twitter.com/SINGH_SANDEEP_/status/1243961236938616833
Another horrible scene from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/coronavirus-in-bareilly-migrants-forced-to-take-bath-in-the-open-with-sanitiser/article31204430.ece
In the event of this colossal mismanagement, the only solution seems to be what Kerala is trying. However, their ability to deliver on this is because of their relatively better capacity of local governments which very few other state governments have. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/coronavirus-india-lockdown-kerala-plans-public-kitchens-says-no-one-should-starve-6331889/?fbclid=IwAR3kjZPIp0jh_F6ZkcxvZbusClI-vcw5oo7IyQPFQkDLfZTWsJ91ILzybYI
Reetika Khera (IIM-A) proposes an urgent plan to not only minimise transmission, but provide welfare to the casual labour that have been left stranded. #Covid_19 #Covid19India https://www.firstpost.com/health/coronavirus-outbreak-and-casual-labour-economist-reetika-khera-spells-out-26-urgent-steps-that-govt-should-take-8200511.html
Meanwhile, we are slowly getting to grips with the extent of community transmission. We also need to find ways to protect frontline healthcare workers. #Covid19India https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/23-more-covid-19-cases-in-delhi-likelihood-of-a-surge-in-the-coming-days-6337801/
. @AnooBhu reports: "Since the government has failed to prepare itself with adequate PPE, they are distributing a drug such as HCQ to appear as if they are protecting health workers", Dr Yogesh Jain, Jan Swasthya Sahyog (Bilaspur, Chattisgarh). https://www.indiaspend.com/covid-19-short-of-protective-gear-for-medics-govt-recommends-unproven-preventive-drug/
. @PriyankaPulla reports: "As of March 17, ICMR had tested only 500 community cases of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI). The agency changed its strategy only on March 20, to include all SARI and pneumonia cases." https://science.thewire.in/health/coronavirus-testing-icmr-testing-strategy-covid-19-diagnostic-kits-community-transmission/
@RemaNagarajan: "The #COVID2019india emergency procurement cell of HLL Lifecare, has told them this is due to short supply of raw materials required to manufacture PPE and the prevailing transportation situation in the lockdown." https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/protective-gear-delivery-only-after-25-days-govt-hosps-told/articleshow/74880300.cms?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=TOIDesktop
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/protective-gear-delivery-only-after-25-days-govt-hosps-told/articleshow/74880300.cms?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=TOIDesktop
More on the debates around whether India has community transmission of #COVID19 #COVID19indiaupdate https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/community-spread-in-india-experts-government-differ/story-iM2kddVQftMzYz1f105b2N.html
"India like several other countries such as the UK, Japan and Sweden has not adopted a mass testing approach adopted by South Korea and Germany...India is still testing 15 people per million." #COVID19 #COVID19indiaupdate https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/healthcare/biotech/healthcare/false-positives-from-private-covid-testing-labs-put-govt-labs-in-a-fix/articleshow/74878664.cms
Aruna Roy, @nikhilmkss: "This virus upends the sharp divide of the two Indias we have manufactured...The lockdown has a disproportionate impact on the socioeconomic conditions of the poor and unorganised sector." #Covid19India https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/locking-down-two-different-indias/article31210743.ece
How to run a biometric-free food security system by @SilviaHedley.
https://twitter.com/silviahedley/status/1244949545114574851?s=21 https://twitter.com/SilviaHedley/status/1244949545114574851
https://twitter.com/silviahedley/status/1244949545114574851?s=21 https://twitter.com/SilviaHedley/status/1244949545114574851
From Andhra Pradesh: "Augmenting bed strength for isolation purposes has been initiated and collectors have been asked to obtain details of hotels, halls, convention centres which can be converted into isolation wards." #Covid19India https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/310320/jagan-government-takes-over-all-private-hospitals-in-andhra-pradesh.html
More distress stories of migrant workers. These are power loom workers in Bhiwandi (30 km outside Mumbai, Maharashtra) who have been stranded by the lockdown. https://twitter.com/sukanyashantha/status/1245030194353565701?s=20
One of several reasons why relief measures announced by the FM last week is unlikely to reach people. Hence, the quantum of the actual spend is going to be much lower. This compounds the pre- #Covid19India situation of lower union budget allocation. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/why-most-mgnrega-households-wont-earn-additional-2000-promised-by-fm/article31227740.ece?homepage=true#
Thread by @rozi_roti on measures taken by various state governments to supply subsidised food rations. https://twitter.com/rozi_roti/status/1242867082703691776
Chattisgarh CM, Bhupesh Baghel wonders why state governments are not consulted on unilateral announcements made by the Modi government. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/bhupesh-baghel-on-covid-19-outbreak-states-have-to-do-all-the-work-why-were-we-not-consulted-6342810/
Starvation by lockdown is a reality for a considerable portion of the population now. #Covid19India https://indianexpress.com/article/coronavirus/hunger-a-constant-companion-for-those-left-without-work-or-income-coronavirus-lockdown-6342992/
Traders think Delhi may run out of essential items soon. https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/transport-labour-crunch-may-hit-supply-chain-warn-traders/story-i58Y1fSSFIVRGlACyZ4hJJ.html
Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey move Supreme Court for payment of wages to MNREGA workers. https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/aruna-roy-and-nikhil-day-move-sc-for-payment-of-wages-to-mnrega-workers-temporary-job-cards-to-migrants-154776
Fear grips densely populated clusters like Mumbai suburbs. https://scroll.in/article/957843/not-much-we-can-do-to-keep-ourselves-safe-fear-grips-mumbais-slums-as-covid-19-cases-rise
Exemption to essential services don't seem to be recognised by local officials enforcing the lockdown. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/local-officials-not-getting-lockdown-instructions-right-centre-to-states/story-c1OUrLv4CvA0LaRbYjJ4QN.html
We are more than a week away from a staggered resumption of services in India. https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/apr/04/india-lockdown-states-airlines-railways-consider-steps-to-relax-curbs-in-phases-from-april-15-2125871.html
Reports of health journalists being locked out of news-briefings. https://www.article-14.com/post/india-widens-curbs-on-media-during-covid-19-pandemic
Meanwhile, even residents of the capital feel the effects of hunger and distress. https://www.newslaundry.com/2020/04/04/will-a-disease-kill-us-or-will-hunger-get-to-us-first-scenes-of-severe-hunger-and-distress-in-delhi
On the controversial congregation that has single-handedly doubled the infection rate in India. https://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/from-nizamuddin-on-the-ground-the-story-of-the-tablighi-jamaat/story-wNZge0cBg23lwXabukOvmJ.html
. @parthpunter on the daily realities of living in densely populated informal settlements. How does social distancing work here? #Covid_19india https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-04-07/social-distancing-family-one-room?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true
My piece on the crisis faced by migrants in India. "The sudden break in all forms of economic activity due to the lockdown has left these workers jobless, and some without access to food." #Covid19India #COVID19
Thank you @rezwan & Andrea. https://globalvoices.org/2020/04/08/indias-covid-19-lockdown-leaves-vulnerable-populations-to-fend-for-themselves/
Thank you @rezwan & Andrea. https://globalvoices.org/2020/04/08/indias-covid-19-lockdown-leaves-vulnerable-populations-to-fend-for-themselves/
Thread by @idr_online on #COVID19 and the development sector. https://twitter.com/idr_online/status/1245622607128322048
A graphic representation of "non-virus deaths" in India by @thej, @CB_Aman and @_kanikas_. #Covid19India https://thejeshgn.com/projects/covid19-india/non-virus-deaths/
Excellent thread by @ChinmayTumbe on migration within, and to and from India, as a guide to understand possible "hotspots" of the virus infection #Covid19India https://twitter.com/ChinmayTumbe/status/1244244943666700288
