Ten days into the COVID-19 lockdown and I'm hoping beyond hope that the next time the Prime Minister warns us he's coming on television, he will ditch the "motivational" announcements and grandstanding and finally announce a proper economic stimulus package.
While Italy may be a marker, since we haven't as yet had the same experience, it is possible that we may escape the worst of the European experiences because we went into lockdown much earlier and also, we had cut connections with the world even before that.
India's unity, so crucial in the battle to save India's people from Coronavirus, will be strengthened if the government of India would keep the democratic and federal character of the constitutional framework in mind when taking decisions which affect the whole country.
We are waging a war against an invisible but common enemy. It is time to put aside our differences - we sink or swim together. And, as in any war, protection of our own, especially the most vulnerable is no less important than combating the aggressors - or what kind of empty victory would we hope to achieve?
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi first addressed the nation on March 19, he told us that a task force would be set up to deal with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. It then took the government almost a week to come up with an economic relief package. This was not a positive beginning - the delay was mystifying, given that the expec...
This is how, within the limits of federal polity, the government of Kerala is trying to defend its people and economy in these difficult days of the Corona epidemic.
Clearly, COVID-19 isn't going away anytime soon. It will surface again. Eventually, unless effective treatment and vaccine become available, herd immunity will play a big part in taming it. This means around 60% of the population needs to develop immunity to it by actually getting infected.
Last night, the prime minister was forced to send the nation into shutdown after it became clear that as people, we were incapable of any voluntary discipline.
Modi's message on Tuesday evening was even starker than most expected. From midnight, this country of 1.3 billion will shut down: "For 21 days, forget what going out means."
If the ongoing situation is going to last months, as speculated, it will need truly innovative measures and sacrifices of the medical fraternity, with many having to don new masks - not just physically but also professionally and metaphorically - to save their fellow countrymen.
With some 400 positive cases within a population of 1.3 billion, the burning question in the minds of many is whether India is under-reporting. Until a couple of days ago, there were strict, conservative criteria for COVID 19 testing.
Now that the clapping and clanging of utensils is over, the question is when will the Prime Minister and his government act to provide the essential physical and social infrastructure for our country to successfully tackle the Covid 19 virus? While governments of other countries have taken steps, in India we are still at the stage of Task Force dis...
It's not easy to turn down an invitation from Rashtrapati Bhavan. Earlier this month, I was mortified at having to do this not once but twice. I was invited by the President of India for breakfast meetings with groups of MPs on March 13 and then, on my polite refusal, on March 18.
At a lengthy and emotional press conference at noon, Kamal Nath said he was quitting as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, sparing himself the ignominy of a floor test, lined up for two hours later, which he was certain to lose.
