Rising poverty: The Hindu Editorial on pandemic-induced disparities
3 years, 9 months ago

Rising poverty: The Hindu Editorial on pandemic-induced disparities

The Hindu  

A new study by the Pew Research Center estimates that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionately deleterious impact on living standards in India and China in 2020, with the sharp economic contraction in the former pushing as many as 7.5 crore people into the ranks of the poor. Similarly, the numbers of India’s middle class — those with a daily income of $10.01–$20 — are projected to have shrunk by 3.2 crore to about 6.6 crore, compared with the number this income cohort would have reached absent the pandemic. Here again, China likely experienced just one-third the level of contraction, with the population of those deemed as middle income set to have narrowed to 49.3 crore compared with the pre-pandemic projection of 50.4 crore. With the number of COVID-19 cases once again rising disconcertingly across the country, there is a clear and present danger that not only could any nascent economic recovery be stymied even before it gains traction but that the number of those sliding into poverty could jump dramatically.

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History of this topic

China Focus: China sees improving livelihood in 75 years
2 months, 2 weeks ago

China Focus: China sees improving livelihood in 75 years

China Daily  

A consumer shops at a supermarket in Shaoyang, Central China's Hunan province, April 11, 2024. The per capita disposable income of China's residents was only 49.7 yuan in 1949, but climbed to 39,218 yuan in 2023, an increase of 75.8 times, or an annual growth rate of 6 percent, adjusted for inflation, according to a report released by the National …

China's Per capita Living Standards Soar: A Journey of 75 Years
2 months, 2 weeks ago

China's Per capita Living Standards Soar: A Journey of 75 Years

China Daily  

China's living standards have significantly improved in the past 75 years, with per capita disposable income increasing from 49.7 yuan to 39,218 yuan. This growth has been driven by the development of the private economy and the expansion of the national economy. The Engel's coefficient, which measures food expenditures as a proportion of total household spending, has declined significantly, indicating …

Study estimates 11.9 lakh excess deaths in 2020 during pandemic, 8 times more than official
5 months ago

Study estimates 11.9 lakh excess deaths in 2020 during pandemic, 8 times more than official

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi, In India, 11.9 lakh excess deaths occurred in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, 17 per cent higher compared to 2019, an international study has found. Study estimates 11.9 lakh excess deaths in 2020 during pandemic, 8 times more than official The estimate is about eight times higher than the official COVID-19 deaths in India, and 1.5 times the …

Claims of spike in poverty in India during COVID-19 patently false, says paper co-authored by Arvind Panagariya
1 year, 9 months ago

Claims of spike in poverty in India during COVID-19 patently false, says paper co-authored by Arvind Panagariya

The Hindu  

Claims of a spike in poverty and inequality in India during the COVID-19 pandemic are patently false as such claims are based on uncomparable different surveys, according to a paper co-authored by eminent economist Arvind Panagariya. Mr. Panagariya, Columbia University Professor and former Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog and Vishal More of Intelink Advisors, New Delhi have co-authored a detailed paper …

Should India be alarmed by China’s COVID surge?
1 year, 11 months ago

Should India be alarmed by China’s COVID surge?

The Hindu  

With the surge in COVID-19 cases in China, after the easing of its stringent zero-COVID policy in December, there is apprehension that the pandemic could be entering a new, uncertain phase. But there’s been a lot of natural infection over the last three years, and therefore people have built up a good level of protective immunity at the population level. …

We’ve made significant progress on poverty reduction
2 years, 1 month ago

We’ve made significant progress on poverty reduction

Live Mint  

Some great news and some not so good news. Titled Unpacking Deprivation Bundles to Reduce Multidimensional Poverty, the report is based on robust household survey data from 111 underlying developing countries and covers 6.1 billion people. As India’s population has quadrupled in the 75 years since Independence, India’s progress on poverty reduction has been steady, particularly in the last 30 …

How Modi’s India Has Succeeded in Bringing Down Poverty in Rural Areas
2 years, 5 months ago

How Modi’s India Has Succeeded in Bringing Down Poverty in Rural Areas

News 18  

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” This oft-cited quote is attributed to Lord Kelvin or William Thomson, who also theorised a completely new temperature scale. The poverty line has been disaggregated state-wise and separately for rural and urban areas. In one of the most cited essays on poverty, Lipton and Ravallion note: “The highest incidence and severity …

The post-pandemic economic question
2 years, 7 months ago

The post-pandemic economic question

Hindustan Times  

Unless there is a surge in Covid-19 deaths — India has learnt to manage its economy better in every successive wave — the economy is unlikely to suffer any unexpected shocks. This brings up the most important post-pandemic question: What is India’s growth potential and has the pandemic left any permanent scars on this ability? Reserve Bank of India ’s …

Pandemic has affected poor more: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das
3 years, 3 months ago

Pandemic has affected poor more: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

Deccan Chronicle  

Mumbai: Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said the Covid-19 pandemic has severely dented inclusivity across countries. In the medium to long-run, both efficiency and equity will greatly matter for sustainable growth and macroeconomic performance.” The impact of pandemics could be a lot more asymmetric by affecting the vulnerable segments more. Overall, there are evidences across countries …

State of working India 2021: The pandemic’s impact on the economy in India
3 years, 5 months ago

State of working India 2021: The pandemic’s impact on the economy in India

Hindustan Times  

This report documents the impact of one year of Covid-19 in India, on jobs, incomes, inequality, and poverty. On top of this, there were legacy problems such as a slow rate of job creation and lack of political commitment to improving working conditions which trapped a large section of the workforce without access to any employment security or social protection. …

The pandemic has ended the illusions of “emerging” economies like India.
54 years, 11 months ago

The pandemic has ended the illusions of “emerging” economies like India.

Slate  

Last month, I walked down to a nearby drugstore, a Duane Reade on John Street in lower Manhattan, paused for the doors to slide open, and entered the First World. Since vaccination need not be a priority, his party stayed occupied with other grand designs: controversial agricultural laws, steamrolled through Parliament despite mass protests; a monumental building project, refashioning imperial …

The state of India’s poor must be acknowledged
3 years, 6 months ago

The state of India’s poor must be acknowledged

The Hindu  

The son of a corn merchant-turned sociologist, Charles Booth had little patience for Charles Dickens and others in his time, who used lyrical prose to describe the desperation of the poor in working class London. The first being, the fall in the monthly per capita consumption expenditure of 2017-18 for the first time since 1972-73, which the Government withheld citing …

In Covid-hit India, 23 crore people earn less than Rs 375 per day: Study
3 years, 7 months ago

In Covid-hit India, 23 crore people earn less than Rs 375 per day: Study

India Today  

India's economy staged an impressive recovery after the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the alarming rise in poverty tells a different story about the country’s future economic outlook. “An alarming 90 per cent of respondents in the Azim Premji University CLIPS reported that households had suffered a reduction in food intake as a result of the lockdown” the …

‘Why India Shouldn’t Decline Any Aid — Even From China & Pakistan’
3 years, 7 months ago

‘Why India Shouldn’t Decline Any Aid — Even From China & Pakistan’

The Quint  

Pavan K Varma: I think my own feeling is that Pakistan, grappling with its own fast-spreading status of the pandemic, is hardly in a position to help. Nor is China probably sincere in its offer — but I want to make an essential point: when your house is on fire, you accept offers of water from any source. China still …

Covid has pushed too many Indians back into poverty
3 years, 8 months ago

Covid has pushed too many Indians back into poverty

Live Mint  

As the world continues to be ravaged by the covid pandemic, more than a year on, it is becoming increasingly evident that the greatest burden has fallen on the global poor. By contrast, for India, a staggering 75 million people were pushed back into poverty by the covid crisis—this is almost 60% of the global total increase in poverty caused …

Coronavirus | Pandemic may have doubled poverty in India, says Pew study
3 years, 9 months ago

Coronavirus | Pandemic may have doubled poverty in India, says Pew study

The Hindu  

March 19, 2021 08:07 pm | Updated March 20, 2021 10:59 am IST - NEW DELHI India’s middle class may have shrunk by a third due to 2020’s pandemic-driven recession, while the number of poor people — earning less than ₹150 per day — more than doubled, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center. “The middle class in …

Pandemic pushed over 3 crore Indians out of middle class: Pew Research
3 years, 9 months ago

Pandemic pushed over 3 crore Indians out of middle class: Pew Research

India Today  

A recent research report has revealed that the novel coronavirus pandemic last year pushed approximately 3.2 crore Indians out of the middle class. The report prepared by the US-based Pew Research Center showed that the number of Indians in the middle class — those who earn between $10 to $20 per day — shrunk by roughly 3.2 crores. Read | …

Pandemic pushes 32 mn Indians out of middle class: Pew Research
3 years, 9 months ago

Pandemic pushes 32 mn Indians out of middle class: Pew Research

Live Mint  

Financial woes brought by last year's coronavirus pandemic have pushed about 32 million Indians out of the middle class, undoing years of economic gains, a report showed on Thursday, while job losses pushed millions into poverty. The number of Indians in the middle class, or those earning between $10 and $20 a day, shrunk by about 32 million, compared with …

Explained: How Covid-19 has made life difficult for India's poor
3 years, 10 months ago

Explained: How Covid-19 has made life difficult for India's poor

India Today  

The coronavirus pandemic has made life difficult for the poorest population in the world as the economic crisis triggered by it has led to a sharp rise in income inequality. The report indicated that the top billionaires in India became richer by 35 per cent during the pandemic, while millions of poor Indians lost their jobs. “The wealth of Indian …

China was the only major economy to grow in 2020
3 years, 11 months ago

China was the only major economy to grow in 2020

Daily Mail  

China's economy grew by 2.3 per cent in 2020, official figures revealed today, making the the country where the pandemic began the only major economy to grow at all last year while the rest of the world was ravaged by Covid-19. China's 2.3 per cent expansion was better than experts had predicted, while every other OECD country is expected to …

Cities Faced Maximum Brunt of Covid But Will be Key to India's Post-pandemic Growth: WEF Study
3 years, 11 months ago

Cities Faced Maximum Brunt of Covid But Will be Key to India's Post-pandemic Growth: WEF Study

News 18  

Cities have borne the maximum brunt of the COVID-19 outbreak but they will also be key to India's post-pandemic growth as they account for nearly 70 per cent of the country's GDP and an average of 25-30 people migrate to cities from rural areas every single minute, a new study has shown. Vulnerable populations, including low-income migrant workers, have suffered …

The Hindu Explains | What were the major challenges to India’s Neighbourhood First Policy this year?
3 years, 11 months ago

The Hindu Explains | What were the major challenges to India’s Neighbourhood First Policy this year?

The Hindu  

The story so far: This year, India faced a trifecta of challenges in its neighbourhood from China: the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing competition for influence in South Asia, and aggressive actions at the Line of Actual Control by China’s People's Liberation Army. China also laid claim to Bhutan’s Sakteng natural reserves and pushed along the boundary lines with Nepal, all …

India suffers first recession in decades
4 years ago

India suffers first recession in decades

CNN  

New Delhi/London CNN Business — India has plunged into recession for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century as the pandemic continues to weigh heavily on Asia’s third biggest economy, which economists warn will struggle to recover from the slump. Government consumption also fell sharply in part because of an“inadequate fiscal response to the crisis,” said senior …

India Fares Worse Than Its Neighbours on Global Hunger Index as Covid-19 Undermines Food Security
4 years, 2 months ago

India Fares Worse Than Its Neighbours on Global Hunger Index as Covid-19 Undermines Food Security

News 18  

Faring much worse than its neighbours, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Myanmar, India ranks 94th on the World Hunger Index for this year. India’s hunger level was found to be “serious”, with a score of 27.2, according to the report jointly released by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide on Friday. We need to develop a universal framework starting …

Explained: How a raging pandemic is widening India's wealth gap
4 years, 3 months ago

Explained: How a raging pandemic is widening India's wealth gap

India Today  

Ever since India gained Independence, the country has traversed a wave of ups and downs to finally become a global powerhouse over the last five years. In India, the wealth gap has been rising sharply during the ongoing pandemic as previous levels of income inequality were already high in the country. A January 2020 study by rights group Oxfam India …

Costs of India’s covid crisis are too high
4 years, 3 months ago

Costs of India’s covid crisis are too high

Live Mint  

India is reeling from a quadruple whammy that is practically unique even during this pandemic. Programs like Britain’s furlough scheme or the U.S.’s $600 per week unemployment aid are a distant dream in India. Perhaps that’s because the case fatality rate, as far as the government can tell, is well below 2% and thus among the lowest in the world. …

Growth Depends on Social Norms, Political Culture; Not Just Economic Policies: Ex-World Bank Economist
4 years, 4 months ago

Growth Depends on Social Norms, Political Culture; Not Just Economic Policies: Ex-World Bank Economist

News 18  

Economic growth of a country depends on social norms, political culture and institutions, and these are deteriorating in India visibly from 2016, former World Bank chief economist Kaushik Basu said on Monday, emphasising that if these trends are not reversed then Indian dream will come to an end. Basu, a professor of economics at Cornell University and former chief economic …

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