-The Indian Express If we truly want to ensure the livelihoods of our farmers and provide safe, healthy, nutritious food for our consumers, it is imperative to make policies that go beyond the productivity trope and populist posturing. Proponents of the three new farm laws have claimed that they will engender competition in agricultural markets and will give farmers a choice to sell wherever they like. The opponents of these laws, including...
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Academics and CSOs from 87 countries call for an end to IMF's austerity drive so that countries can undertake fiscal measures for economic recovery
-Statement by over 500 organisations and academics from 87 countries against IMF's austerity drive, dated 6th October, 2020 More than 500 organisations and academics from 87 countries have issued a statement today calling on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stop promoting austerity and instead support policies that advance gender justice, reduce inequality, and put people and planet first. The IMF has already begun locking some countries into long term austerity-conditioned loans,...
More »India should opt for income support so that pandemic does not turn into a financial crisis -Jahangir Aziz
-The Indian Express What is needed is ample income support for households and firms now so that the recovery is not hamstrung by excessively damaged balance sheets Even a cursory reading of Brazil’s recent history will confirm that the adoption of the all-encompassing cap on government spending in late 2016 was critical in rescuing the economy from the crisis of 2014-16. After riding the commodity boom of the 2000s, economic mismanagement and a...
More »Differential impact of COVID-19 and the lockdown -Ashwini Deshpande and Rajesh Ramachandran
-The Hindu The resultant distress in India has exacerbated pre-existing structures of disadvantage based on social identity In his book, The Great Leveler, Walter Scheidel, the Austrian economic historian, argues that throughout human history, there have been four types of catastrophic events that have led to greater economic equality: pandemic, war, revolution and state collapse. Currently, the world is going through one of them: a massive COVID-19 pandemic. In Scheidel’s analysis, the...
More »Grain aplenty and the crisis of hunger: on universal Public Distribution System -Dipa Sinha
-The Hindu The focus on One Nation One Ration Card is misplaced when what is needed is a universal Public Distribution System With the economic crisis continuing on the one hand and the health system crumbling under the burden of rising COVID-19 cases on the other, it is clear that it will take a long time for things to get back to “normal”. Unemployment is high and it will take a while...
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