While countries of the South Asian region are taking individual steps to battle COVID-19, currency swaps have emerged as an important tool of economic cooperation in the region, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Partha Pratim Mitra
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Resilience of the real sector key to sustenance in South Asia
In terms of a more vulnerable population which is less well paid, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal are more vulnerable as compared to the rest of the countries of the region, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
South Asia: Fiscal policy as an option for economic revival
The data on the growth rates in Gross Domestic Product between 2015 to 2020 show that South Asia would show the maximum decline in 2020 after growing the fastest between 2015-2019 at an annual average rate of 6.1 percent as compared to 4.8 percent for Southeast Asia and 6.0 percent for East Asia, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South…
COVID-19 and the world of work: Contours of policy design for South Asia
The distribution of the COVID-19 package across countries of the South Asian region shows that India has been one of the largest beneficiaries but the per capita package is lower than the Maldives and Bhutan due to the smaller population of these countries, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
As South Asia battles COVID-19, time for strengthening regional trade connectivity
Experts feel that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about new opportunities for regional cooperation in South Asia with the setting up of an emergency fund of $10 million to fight the pandemic with India's initiative, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
India's COVID-19 stimulus package: Will it revive the economy?
There seems to be a strong argument that the singular focus of the stimulus package should have been a fiscal stimulus, which would have increased public spending in physical or human capital, raised money in the hands of residents by direct cash transfers and subsidies and provided safety nets like job guarantee and unemployment benefits,…
Lessons from Cyclone Amphan: Need to rethink development strategy
The question that arises uppermost is that are we learning the right lessons from these recurring weather episodes or just concentrating on immediate short-term disaster relief without taking any steps to make the regions ecologically sustainable and disaster resistant, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Universal Basic Income is answer to the migrant labour crisis
With livelihoods suddenly coming to an end due to the lockdown, the option left for the migrant workers was to make a hasty retreat to their home towns. The presence of some form of Universal Basic Income (UBI) could have mitigated their uncertainties to a certain extent, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Visakhapatnam gas leak: Need for stricter enforcement of labour laws
While in these difficult times when there is a need for more workers' protection, relaxation of labour laws may not be in the overall interest of workers and there is a need for a rethink on the entire issue, particularly after incidents such as the Visakhapatnam gas leak, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Strengthening of rural institutions a must to revive economy
The economic discourse in India in a little over two months has changed from one of confidently steering the economy through investment and consumption measures to one of the stimulus packages for the needy and the vulnerable by government and liquidity infusion by RBI for businesses and jobs to survive, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for…
