-The Hindu The Centre can afford to step up its COVID-19 assistance to a higher scale; fiscal deficit is no worry The three-week long Lockdown imposed on the country, it can be argued, was an over-reaction. More widespread testing of possible cases, “social distancing”, self-quarantining by the elderly, and selective Lockdown of sensitive areas (as the Chinese government did in Wuhan) might have been quite adequate. But while this can be debated,...

-The Hindu The government has an opportunity to help farmers who are battling declining demand and lower prices Social distancing and living under a Lockdown appear to be the only effective ways of dealing with the pandemic. As India lacks the resources to significantly ramp up testing, imposing a Lockdown was the government’s preferred option. Although there is limited evidence to suggest that this strategy may be working in containing the spread...

-The Indian Express/ PTI They are distributing packets containing food grains and other essential items to residents of different localities and urging citizens to strictly follow the Lockdown and not venture out of their homes. Mumbai: In a move aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus, some city-based NGOs and political leaders have started free distribution of essential items to people, particularly those residing in slum pockets. They are distributing packets containing food...

-Factly.in Following the 21-day nationwide Lockdown to tackle the spread of COVID-19, the central & state governments have announced various relief measures. Here is a compilation of the relief measures announced by state governments. The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented situation. It is already known that the Government of India has declared a Nation-wide Lockdown for 21 days  that began on 25 March 2020 to contain the spread of...

-PTI/ The Telegraph Social unrest as a result of the Lockdown had already started: Dreze The Indian macroeconomic situation is bleak and, economically, the country is facing possibly its greatest emergency since Independence, renowned economists Jean Dreze and Raghuram Rajan have said. In a blog, Rajan said the country needed to plan for the post-Lockdown phase and made several suggestions. Please click here to read more.   ...