Description

We are delighted to present to you Volume 1 Issues 1 and 2 of the
Journal of Development Policy Review (JDPR). This is a Special
Issue on the ‘COVID-19 Pandemic and India’. It is divided into the
following sections: Insights, Policy Perspectives, Special Articles,
Young Voices and Report Review. Articles in these sections focus on
the COVID-19 pandemic that has already posed and continues to
pose innumerable challenges for policymakers and citizens across the
globe. The pandemic has demonstrated how vulnerable are our
economies, health care systems, environment and societies as well as
social systems, especially when the strong bond of globalization has
connected all the countries of the world. Increasing number of
infected persons, fatalities, skyrocketing unemployment and access
to healthcare facilities becoming inadequate, etc. have been a feature
for advanced, emerging and developing and even underdeveloped
economies, alike (of course in varying degrees). Though COVID-19
is a universal challenge, developing countries are disproportionately
hurt.
Mitigating measures, especially the lockdown, have brought their
economies to a halt and the costs in terms of destitution, hunger, and
death are much higher. The pandemic has exacerbated the economic
and social divides already present in these countries with women and
vulnerable groups and marginalized communities being the worst
sufferers. With almost over two full months into coronavirus being
declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (March 11,
2020), the future still remains uncertain with heightened levels of
anxieties. The government of India responded to this crisis with
lockdown and announced a slew of financial packages. Almost all the
state governments have responded to the challenge considering their
local realities. In fact, these unprecedented times have showcased one
of the best examples of cooperative federalism in India, where both
the union and the state governments have worked in tandem with
each other