business and finance

Hunting for an anti-COVID-19 drug

WHO’s Solidarity and Oxford’s RECOVERY trials can give a clearer picture on some drugs that showed early promise.




business and finance

A new White Revolution: How COVID-19 could benefit the dairy industry

Covid-19 could benefit the dairy industry as consumers could shift from meat-based to dairy-based protein. The govt may consider reducing GST on ghee and milk fat from 12% to 5% .




business and finance

Online Education: Ending an apartheid

Just seven of India’s 993 Universities have online-education licenses; Meanwhile, as the Lockdown shows, Foreign varsities make hay of the Indian demand for online courses.




business and finance

COVID-19 may double poverty in India

Even a 25% fall in their incomes due to the lockdown will make 354 mn more people poor. fixing this with cash transfers will cost the govt Rs 19,500 cr per month.




business and finance

South Korea’s COVID-19 success story

The country’s NGOs and trade unions were critical in monitoring the situation, and reaching vulnerable groups.




business and finance

Corona’s many facets complicate the treatment

It is not just the lungs, it affects the heart, kidneys, brain... this is making treatment—and a lasting cure—difficult.




business and finance

Taxpayer money deserves a little more respect

As for MFs, many of them are backed by strong parents—in India and overseas—and this is the time for them to support their offspring.




business and finance

Schools are functioning despite extraordinary challenges, no ground to deny them fees

However, the High Court rejected this invocation of Rule 165, ruling that the it specified only the payability conditions of fees, and not the chargeability of it.




business and finance

Fighting Corona: Look at local data, not a national curve

An RT-PCR test takes several hours for the result to be available. We cannot make a patient who comes with a non-Covid-19 problem wait till that result is available.




business and finance

Govts may not be able to isolate the true toll of the Covid-19 pandemic

Globally, experts are looking at “excess mortality” or mortality gaps as another measure of the coronavirus death toll. This approach compares the number of deaths during a certain period to the historical average.




business and finance

India’s lightbulb moment: Not using this crisis for meaningful energy sector reform would be a waste

The trend of low power demand, now furthered in the post-Covid economy, and increased RE generation, will continue to put a ceiling on the PLF of the thermal fleet.




business and finance

COVID-19’s costly trade-off: Unless lives are preserved, livelihoods become redundant

Coronavirus is ensuring the trade-off, especially for developing economies is significant, notwithstanding efforts to strike a balance




business and finance

COVID-19 crisis and the art of giving

A case could be made out for including chief ministers' relief funds in the list of entities eligible for corporate CSR funding




business and finance

COVID-19 pandemic: Reviving the aluminium industry to challenge China

The industry is the most apt for creating livelihoods. Govt should consider supporting SMEs in the sector through tariffs to prevent their collapse due to the pandemic




business and finance

Coronavirus crisis: India simply can’t afford another lockdown extension

Even supporting the poor—whose numbers will double—can cost Rs 65,000-130,000 crore per month




business and finance

Why extending lockdown could be catastrophic

Extending the lockdown well beyond mid-May would shave 8-9% off the real GDP. but, the damage being done doesn’t seem to be filtering up to those in charge




business and finance

Rishi Kapoor: A ‘lovely lover’ who was destined to be a star

Rishi Kapoor was old Bollywood, but he was also cracklingly fresh, spoke to an India trembling on the cusp of a new era




business and finance

COVID-19 lockdown: Urgent need to decongest megacities

Before tertiary infections take root, it could perhaps be a good to plan to decongest the slums by arranging travel of migrants to their home in orderly manner without losing time




business and finance

Fighting Covid: Need to expand Aarogya Setu to make it better

It must include those quarantined as well instead of just the infected; wider testing critical if the app has to work.




business and finance

Covid crisis: Govt orders like no pay and job cut can severely dent business confidence

Government orders on waiver of rents impinge on contractual rights.




business and finance

Covid fallout: 265 million people likely to face acute food insecurity

Corona will worsen world hunger, while malnutrition facilitates increased vulnerability to the pandemic.




business and finance

Dressing Covid numbers: Bengal’s handling of the Covid outbreak raises many questions

Bengal’s handling of the Covid outbreak raises many questions.




business and finance

Covid-19: Time to think of key tax reforms — Few suggestions

The Covid 19 crisis is an opportunity to redefine tax policy and law. A calibrated approach to balance welfare economics with a vision to pioneer economic activity and national growth is needed.




business and finance

What govts need to learn from Covid-19 crisis

Today, when the US, China, UK, France, etc, which spend much more on healthcare than other nations are facing a crisis, one can very well understand how bad the situation could have been if the outbreak was in the third world, where a majority of global poor live with very little or no access to public health care. The situation would have been much worse.




business and finance

Covid crisis: India at the cliff edge of a rating downgrade

India’s Achilles heel on ratings is its parlous state of fiscal affairs and the risk of a sharp deterioration of government debt to potentially ~75-80% of GDP.




business and finance

Coordinating Covid-Response: Global coordination needed to tackle Covid-19 crisis

The world must use this opportunity to fund global public goods and rebuild global systems to fight the right battles.




business and finance

Walk in the park: Golf courses around the world are under pressure to open up as parks for the general public

Nearly 7,000 people have signed a change.org petition to open up courses in the UK as parks during the pandemic.




business and finance

Need to renew industrial growth: Modi 1.0 launched Make in India, now is the chance for renewal

The need is for a temporary unemployment benefit scheme for up to 100 days a year similar to the MNREGS so that urban workers do not suffer during short periods of unemployment.




business and finance

Across The Aisle: Imagination is everything in war against reality

On May 3, the governments would have got 40 days time to do those things; the question is, do governments need more time?




business and finance

Governments need to incorporate battling strategies for diseases like COVID-19 in their national security plans

In India, which is the biggest democracy in the world with over 1.3 billion people, the question of public health has never been debated in public.




business and finance

Without due process: Government orders on waiver of rents impinge on contractual rights

By Abhinav Mukerji Recently, there have been a spate of news reports on measures issued through executive orders directing waiver of rents, reduction or freezing of school fees, continuation of employment, restriction on termination of employees, and restriction on reduction in salary in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government has also issued executive […]




business and finance

Building a resilient India: COVID-19 crisis is an opportunity to redefine tax policy and law

The Covid 19 crisis is an opportunity to redefine tax policy and law. A calibrated approach to balance welfare economics with a vision to pioneer economic activity and national growth is needed.




business and finance

Implement strong climate policy post COVID-19

The lockdown is an opportunity to mainstream sustainability in economic policy as it has made citizens amenable to decisions that have a high discount rate.




business and finance

Virtually Real: Gaming has been serious business for some time, but Fortnite’s experiment shows the success of metaverse

Gaming has been serious business for some time, but Fortnite’s experiment shows the success of metaverse.




business and finance

Covid-19 testing rates do not match mortality rates

We should continue to implement all the needed public health measures instead of projecting testing rates as the sole path to salvation




business and finance

China’s foray into digital currency could spark wider acceptance for crypto

While this makes China the first country formalising digital currency—Bitcoin alternatives have existed for long now—it also sounds the bugle for other central banks to join the race.




business and finance

Covid crisis: States must be assigned their rightful role

The basic decision making on the ground must be left to the states and should involve municipal corporations and wards.




business and finance

What India should do when oil prices have crashed

With crude price low, the govt should think of moving completely to DBT for food, fertiliser and power.




business and finance

Private hospitals have a point in not admitting patients without testing for Covid-19

Lack of PPE & shortage of testing kits is a real issue.




business and finance

Covid-19: Centre needs to refine the graded action plan if it is to work

Containment zones must be marked ‘red’, not the entire district; also, will activity be curtailed if areas turn ‘red’?




business and finance

New power sector amendments propose more government

The proposed amendments must focus more on how to deal with the prevalent losses than to bring in more complex enforcement mechanisms




business and finance

What India should do to bolster confidence of investors in post Covid world

India’s share of world manufacturing output is just 3%; it can easily be raised to 6% in 3-4 years, and 15% by 2030




business and finance

Covid-19 pandemic: Growth lessons for states from Gujarat, Karnataka

The pandemic and its economic consequences have given every state economy the unprecedented opportunity to take bold decisions and accelerate decadal growth.




business and finance

COVID-19 lockdown: Stricter action required against violators of social distancing norms

Liquor-store crowds show the masses still don’t understand the importance of social distancing in fighting Covid-19




business and finance

Challenges beyond Covid-19 crisis: UGC should seriously think about an SAT-style entrance test

Covid-19 presents an opportunity for UGC to push for US SAT-style common entrance exam




business and finance

Gathering Coronavirus data from states: More central monitoring teams is a good idea

Even now, a state like West Bengal’s data looks dodgy; others like Gujarat and UP also pose challenges




business and finance

Fruit for thought! Lockdown has forced farmers into shock sales — and debt

Everyone in the banana supply chain seems to be gaining from the lockdown, except growers.




business and finance

Covid lockdown: When you can’t litigate and arbitrate

Given the many advantages it has over traditional litigation during the corona crisis, arbitration should no longer be just an alternative dispute resolution mechanism, but the primary choice for adjudicating disputes.




business and finance

Niti Aayog CEO bats for ‘flexi-work’ in post-Covid world

Building infrastructure to enable remote working will boost economy.




business and finance

Sporting Spirit: Wushu championship shows that sports is trying its best to adapt to a new normal

The lockdown has added significant impetus, however, to e-sports or online sports, which are fast becoming a mainstream activity.