ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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The Renewed Fear of Bad Debt

The evidence of a decline in the non-performing assets ratio in India’s banking system points to a significant improvement in the health of banks. However, this may have occurred partly through the use of write-offs that erode the capital base of banks and also because of the time-bound moratorium on debt repayments announced as part of measures to address the effects of the pandemic on small units and other selected borrowers. In the circumstances, even though new pandemic-linked lending to micro, small and medium enterprises was partly guaranteed by the government, a rise in the NPA ratios and further erosion of bank capital seem inevitable.

 

Behind the Early Unravelling of Joe Biden’s Promise

The inability and unwillingness of the new United States administration under Joe Biden to usher in a new deal-like transformative policies and correct course on foreign policy, is due to the persistent control of the big business that is endemic to the sociopolitical systems of the capitalist West.

 

COVID-19: Lessons from a Knowable Unknown

Since December 2019, the world has been combating a biological enemy—COVID-19. This article looks at how we arrived at this point and how we must be better prepared to battle the next Disease x, as the World Health Organization calls it.

 

The Second Wave of Death and Disaster

India’s overzealousness to launch its vaccine diplomacy programme was preposterous. The crisis manager in the ministry of external affairs may run from pillar to post to procure vaccines but that cannot repair the damage their policies have had on the country. India despite being called the pharmacy of the world has failed to deliver the much-needed doses to its own population. It is time that we paused and introspected as the excessive securitisation of our foreign policy and its obsession with China will only lead to spending more on defence when we actually need to focus on economic and health sectors.

 

World Trade Organization Is Moving Too Slow for Comfort

Any further delay to waive intellectual property rights and ensure adequate vaccines will prove costly.

 

An Illusion Built on Tragedy

Continuing the Central Vista redevelopment amidst the pandemic reveals a sinister stubbornness.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and A New Sociology of Social Distancing

An otherwise socially unacceptable and culturally sensitive phenomenon like social distancing has become a buzzword in everyday discourse due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Indian tradition, the practice of reasonable closeness and acceptable physical proximity is valued as against the idea of isolation and social distancing. The upsurge in COVID-19 cases and consequent prescriptions for social distancing have pointed to an interesting and unnoticed sociological consequence of the pandemic alongside its impact on the economy and livelihood.

The Indian Economy

Deadly and frightening as it appears, it is still too early to estimate the severity of India’s Covid-19 second wave. Unlike the transatlantic countries where it appears to have peaked, India’s second wave is still trending upwards. While the second wave is more devastating, India’s unpreparedness is evident. India needs to recognise that such pandemics will come again. It needs to diversify and secure its supply chains, vaccine output, and upgrade its poor healthcare infrastructure. The Indian economy has been badly hit by the pandemic, with one of the highest output losses amongst major economies. One of the possible reasons for this is the limited fiscal support despite a stringent lockdown, with most of the heavy lifting done through monetary measures. Going forward, its economy needs to overcome several challenges before it can return to its former high growth trajectory.

 

Elections in a Pandemic

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the “legal exceptionalism” of election time must be examined to see the constraints that the pandemic places on the Election Commission of India, as well as the “special” responsibilities that it must discharge to ensure that procedural certainties are commensurate with a public health emergency. This article argues that the focus on the pandemic must not take our attention away from the larger concerns around the conduct of the commission and its implications for trust in the institution and electoral integrity.

 

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