India: Official Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic

The global economy has been totally disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Governments of every nation are struggling to deal with the largest ever crisis since World War II – with over 345,000 deaths and over 5.42 million confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide, increasing daily at an astonishing pace. This paper presents an analysis of the various policy (healthcare, monetary and fiscal) responses by Government of India (“GoI†) to COVID-19.India is the largest democracy in the world with over 1.3 Billion citizens and GDP of over USD 2.7 trillion. As of now, India has over 4,000 deaths with over 139,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Since late January 2020, GoI has imposed various restrictions on movement, travel and eventual lock-down which are focused on prioritising public health, reducing spread of the virus (“flattening the curve†) and saving lives. India has been under extended lockdown from March 24, 2020 to May 31, 2020 (version 4.0). On May 12, 2020, PM Modi announced an India vision to fulfil the dream of making India self -reliantin the 21st century, entitled Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan (Self-Reliant India Movement). A comprehensive special economic Aatmanirbhar package to the tune of Rs.20 trillion (USD 276 Bn), which is equivalent to almost 10% of India’s GDP, was announced. The author’s conclusions highlight limitations of GoI’s policy responses –COVID-19 curve not flattening despite extended lockdown; overall stimulus packages much smaller than requiredat 10% of GDP – mostly liquidity stimulus with an effective fiscal/ cashstimulus of about 1.5%; delayed timing (took 7-8 weeks to be announced from the date of first lockdown); huge focus on rural India and the agricultural sector; possibly missing an opportunity to develop India into a leading global manufacturing base and services hub.