Coronavirus Pandemic: The Policies We Need to Be Ready for the Long Haul
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Coronavirus Pandemic: The Policies We Need to Be Ready for the Long Haul

  Abhinash Borah, Sabyasachi Das, Aparajita Dasgupta, Ashwini Deshpande, Kanika Mahajan, Bharat Ramaswami, Anuradha Saha, Anisha Sharma There is a lot that is unknown about SARS-COV-2, but the world’s leading epidemiologists believe that its spread will be a long-drawn process. It will take at least 18 months for a vaccine to become available, and even…

What Doesn’t Add Up in Nirmala Sitharaman’s Relief Package for India’s Poor
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What Doesn’t Add Up in Nirmala Sitharaman’s Relief Package for India’s Poor

Kabir Agarwal, Anuj Srivas How impactful will finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s relief package for India’s poorest actually end up being? The Narendra Modi government unveiled the contours of the Rs 1.7 lakh crore package on Thursday, with a promise that it was for people who needed immediate help – like migrant workers, and the urban…

Two Days Into Lockdown, Sitharaman Announces Rs 1.7 Lakh Crore Package to Help Poorest
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Two Days Into Lockdown, Sitharaman Announces Rs 1.7 Lakh Crore Package to Help Poorest

The Wire Staff, 26 March 2020 Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a much-awaited relief package for India’s poor and migrant workers, who have been hit hardest by the 21-day national lockdown that is aimed at tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. The ‘Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan’ scheme, worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore or slightly less…

Unemployment Pandemic
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Unemployment Pandemic

Capitalist crises are neither predictable nor do they stem from a single cause. Instead, at least as I see it, the possibility of a crisis is always there but the causes and triggers are all historical and therefore multiple and varied. Sometimes, crises in capitalism stem from difficulties in extracting more surplus from workers and…

A Pandemic in an Unequal India
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A Pandemic in an Unequal India

Harsh Mander If the COVID-19 pandemic lashes India with severity, it will not be just the middle class who will be affected. India’s impoverished millions are likely to overwhelmingly bear the brunt of the suffering which will ensue. The privileged Indian has been comfortable for too long with some of the most unconscionable inequalities in…