Indian Economy’s Greatest Crisis : Impact of Coronavirus And The Road Ahead

AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC ON THE INDIAN ECONOMY

Exposes fault lines in India’s economy and society and suggests ways to bring Indian economy back on track

‘Desperate times call for desperate measures.’ The outbreak of COVID-19 aptly justifies this expression as the world faces an unprecedented situation. But what is so unusual about the coronavirus, especially since viral attacks-H1N1, Ebola and Nipah-have taken place earlier as well? How has it affected India and the world? What are the socio-economic implications for India? How has India’s response been to the coronavirus? What is more important-life or livelihood? How can India recover from the sudden economic shock caused by the pandemic?
This book is an attempt to answer these and many more such questions.
The coronavirus hit the world in December 2019 like a hurricane. What started as a medical emergency soon turned into an economic one. No global financial crisis has ever hit humanity as hard as COVID-19. The world, therefore, was caught ill prepared when the pandemic struck. The situation, to say the least, is worse than a war. The situation in India is no different: In terms of the number of cases reported, it is second only to the United States.

This book highlights the enormity of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on India. It critically examines the government’s efforts to control the disease and mitigate its adverse effects on Indian economy and society. Making a compelling argument that an economy is not like a rubber ball, which, if dropped on a hard surface, will bounce back to its original position, the author provides incisive reasons to why economic recovery will be slow and not ‘V-shaped’. He, however, cogently suggests that good governance, a robust public-health system, and clean and representative politics are key to bringing India’s economy back on track.

ARUN KUMAR

Arun Kumar is a veteran Indian economist. He studied at the Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Princeton University, the US, and taught economics at JNU for three decades, until 2015. His areas of interest include public finance, development economics, public policy and macroeconomics. Kumar has written widely on these subjects, both in the popular press and in academic journals. At present, he is the Malcolm S. Adiseshiah chair professor at the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi. Some of the finest books authored by him include Indian Economy Since Independence: Persisting Colonial Disruption (2013), Understanding the Black Economy and Black Money in India: An Enquiry into Causes, Consequences and Remedies (2017), Demonetization and the Black Economy (2017) and The Ground Scorching Tax (2019).

December 2020 | EBURY PRESS| Penguin Random House India