COVID-19 lockdown will deepen India’s rifts

Subject Impact of India's COVID-19 lockdown. Significance Prime Minister Narendra Modi today extended India’s COVID-19 lockdown to May 3. Police have frequently resorted to heavy-handed tactics to enforce restrictions on movement, and the lockdown has left millions unable to earn a daily wage. Impacts Modi will aim to assert his credentials as a global leader by encouraging greater international cooperation in handling the pandemic. Even after curbs on movement are lifted, the government will likely cite public health concerns to restrict the right to protest. There will be growing calls for a universal basic income.

Significance The government's reforms have failed to deliver growth and lower employment as it had hoped. This leaves it poorly placed before December's regional elections and the 2017 presidential poll. Against a background of economic weakness, Europe's migrant crisis is boosting the National Front (FN) and its leader Marine Le Pen. Impacts Sarkozy may beat former Prime Minister Alain Juppe in the main centre-right party primary. Sarkozy may then beat President Francois Hollande in the first presidential round, and Marine Le Pen in the second. Under pressure from the right, the government is unlikely to accept further refugees beyond the proposed EU quota. France's continued economic debility will weaken its voice in the EU, and exacerbate strains with Germany.


Significance Although it has one of the lowest case fatality rates globally, it has registered more coronavirus deaths per million of population than most other South Asian countries. Its COVID-19 burden has grown despite the imposition earlier this year of a strict nationwide lockdown. Impacts The government will redouble its commitment to a 2017 National Health Policy, which aims to improve public health in all states. India will try to underline its credentials as a global leader in the provision of essential medical supplies. Delhi will continue to discuss pandemic relief strategies with its key security partners.


Subject India's attempts to curb the spread of COVID-19. Significance Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 announced a 21-day lockdown in response to the COVID-19 crisis, describing this as a “curfew” for India’s 1.3 billion people. Although people can leave their homes to procure essentials such as food and medicine, and certain key services are exempt from the shutdown, the aim of the drastic measure is to prevent community spread of the coronavirus, through social distancing. India has recorded little more than 700 cases of COVID-19, but it has undertaken only limited testing for infection. Impacts The government will aim to curtail the spread of misinformation about COVID-19, such as pseudoscientific theories about possible cures. People attacking healthcare professionals due to fears they may spread the coronavirus will face strong punitive action from authorities. A stimulus package announced by Delhi yesterday should ease some concerns among daily-wage earners about food security amid the lockdown.


Significance The lack of coordination between regions, an inefficient system of testing and tracing and the rapid reopening of society and the economy have contributed to this poor performance. However, the number of deaths has not increased significantly, sparing the healthcare system from the pressure it faced earlier this year. Impacts The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Spain's economy will prompt Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to seek more assistance from the EU. The government can no longer expect parliamentary support from the Republican Left of Catalonia party. Pressures to expand investment in public health care will grow, but resource constraints will limit the government's response.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
P M Rejimon ◽  
R Smitha

There are about forty lakh scheduled caste people in Kerala. Most of them are poor and daily wage workers. The socio-economic backwardness of scheduled caste people is a historically determined outcome of a caste system in India. Education is the only way for them to get out of this historical whirlwind of economic deprivation, denial of rights and social exclusion. The Government of India passed The Right to Education Act in 2010 and it ensures “free and compulsory education” for all children aged 6 to 14. The government of Kerala has introduced many innovative programs to provide education for scheduled caste pupils in the state. “Model Residential School” owned and managed by the Scheduled Caste Development Department of The Government of Kerala, is one of such successful initiatives. Model Residential Schools take special care to cater to the educational needs of the underprivileged children and help them to attain quality education. In this article, the investigators explore the role played by the model residential schools in the educational development of scheduled caste pupils in Kerala and particularly in solving the burning issue of a high rate of dropouts among scheduled caste pupils.


Significance The government vows that freeports will represent “hubs of enterprise which will allow places to carry out business inside a country’s land border but where different customs rules apply”. The creation of freeports are a central component of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government to facilitate global trade and promote regional regeneration in the post-Brexit era. Impacts With Brexit, London will have more flexibility regarding the concessions it can offer businesses operating in freeports. The government vows to create freeports in the devolved regions but faces the difficult task of cooperating with the devolved governments. Some poorer regions will miss out on freeports, which could leave them even more deprived and stoke local resentment against London.


Significance The five-party coalition enters office at a time of intense economic and social uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, rising debt and soaring energy prices. Prime Minister Petr Fiala's greatest challenges involve negotiating between the five coalition partners and restoring respectability to Czech politics. Impacts The new government will be less sceptical about closer EU integration, given the upcoming Czech EU presidency from mid-2022. The government will try to reopen EU Green Deal chapters to renegotiate compensation for highly industrialised member states. Former Prime Minister Andrej Babis may run for president in 2023. Babis will strive to avoid losing parliamentary immunity from prosecution relating to the Stork’s Nest affair and alleged EU subsidy fraud.


Significance The government led by the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) is under mounting pressure as Slovenia prepares to take over the European Council presidency. This is due mainly to hostility in parliament and society to Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who promotes a popular but divisive form of national conservatism. Impacts A successful no-confidence vote in the government followed by early elections would complicate Slovenia’s handling of its EU presidency. The fall of the current government and its replacement by the centre-left would improve Slovenia’s relations with the EU and United States. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban would lose an ally at EU level if Jansa lost office.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharmistha Sharma ◽  
Jeevan Bhatta

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to depict the current scenario of coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) in Nepal, how the government is tackling this pandemic as well as look at the public health challenges that Nepal is facing and might face in the future.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a viewpoint of COVID-19 activities conducted in Nepal.FindingsNepal is vulnerable to COVID-19, as it shares borders with China and India. Cases have started to be seen in different parts of Nepal. Government of Nepal has started various measures to control the spread of the virus such as deploying health workers, information sharing via different mediums. However, there are still many challenges that the government and public health officials need to be concerned about as well.Originality/valueThis paper provides information about the situation of COVID-19 in Nepal, how the government is handling, and public health challenges that may arise. This paper can be beneficial for further public health interventions.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick da Luz Scherf ◽  
Marcos Vinicius Viana da Silva ◽  
Janaina S. Fachini

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has been managed in Brazil, especially at the Federal Administrative level, with the focus being on the implications for human rights and public health in the country. Design/methodology/approach The research is built on a qualitative design made up of a case-study and review of the literature and is based on inductive reasoning. Findings Main conclusions were that: by not making sufficient efforts to safeguard the lives of Brazilians or to strengthen public health institutions amid the pandemic, Bolsonaro’s Administration may be violating the rights to life and health, among others, by omission; it was demonstrated that the President has worked unceasingly to bulldoze anti-COVID-19 efforts, which can be better explained through the concepts of necropolitics and neoliberal authoritarianism. Research limitations/implications One of the limitations to this research is that this paper was not able to discuss more thoroughly which other human rights norms and principles (apart from the right to health, life and the duty to protect vulnerable populations) have possibly been violated amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Overall, this research can help expand the literature on human rights in health management during and after emergency times. Originality/value This paper focuses on recent events and on urgent matters that need to be addressed immediately in Brazil. This study provides an innovative health policy/human rights analysis to build an academic account of the ongoing pandemic in the largest country in South America.


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