COVID-19 and the Indian Economy

With strong macroeconomic fundamentals, the Indian economy was well-placed on trajectory of high growth rate in early 2020 when the outbreak of coronavirus epidemic in China was reported. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the epidemic as a pandemic, plunging the world into an unprecedented medical crisis. When countrywide lockdown was announced from March 25, 2020, most of the economic activities came to a grinding halt in urban areas. However, rural India continued to be normal in view of the exemption from restrictions allowed to farmers to conduct farming operations, including harvesting and transporting their produce to grain markets with the general conditions of face covering, hand hygiene, and social distancing. These exemptions helped to maintain continuity in supply chain, especially in view of harvesting and sowing season. To deal with the economic challenges caused by the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the creation of 'COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force' under the Union Finance Minister. Similarly, PM CARES Fund was created to deal with any kind of emergency or distress situation. On May 12, 2020, the Prime Minister announced Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-reliant India Initiative) which combined relief, policy reforms, and fiscal and monetary measures to help businesses and individuals to cope with the situation created by COVID-19 pandemic.