ARTICLE | International Economic Revival
Learn from the rest, implement the best
The second wave of COVID-19 hit the country right when the ailing Indian economy was beginning to realign itself. According to Bloomberg, all major economists and financial institutions cut growth projections for India, including State Bank of India (11 per cent to 10.4 per cent), after the devastating second wave Hitesh Nigam | Reporter
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he situation was so bizarre that even Parisbased Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which had the most optimistic growth numbers of all, decreased their projection from 12.6 per cent to 9.9 per cent. According to a report titled ‘State of Working: India 2021’, the number of Indians reporting less than national floor-level minimum wage of `375 increased by more than 200 million during the pandemic. The GDP shrunk by 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of the financial year 2020-21, according to official data by the National Statistical Office (NSO). On the other hand, various foreign nations are experimenting with new growth models and measures to tackle the economic setback caused due to the pandemic. Learning from their methods and implementing them in India can be beneficial for the country to stimulate economic revival.
Inoculating economic packages in Brazilian cities
Brazil’s economy grew by an unexpected 1.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 as compared to the last quarter, according to data from
36 June 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
the National Statistics Agency. The numbers show an optimistic growth pattern for the country even after the deadly second wave of COVID-19 hit the nation. The growth of the country is led by a 5.7 per cent jump in the agriculture sector and a 4.6 per cent surge in internal investments. Brazil launched a financial package worth US$ 150 million to face the economic challenges posed by the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to official data, the Government of Brazil introduced various measures, including temporary relief in custom duty, simplifying customs clearance process and many different schemes for employment generation. As cities were first responders during the pandemic, the Brazilian Senate passed a bill which gave financial aid of US$ 116 to informal workers and US$ 1200 to single mothers. As economic stimulus measures, especially for cities, Brazil directed the state-owned federal banks to extend credit of US$ 14.9 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises aimed at stimulating the investments and expenditure in the economy. The generous pandemic welfare programs, which reached to almost one-third of the population, helped to balance the
economy a lot. COVID-19 has hit Brazil drastically as it is the second country in the world with the largest number of deaths and the third largest number of active cases, according to official data. Amid such chaos, the country has managed to decrease the effects of the second wave of the pandemic successfully. What Rebeca Palis from the statistics agency said about lesser restrictions this year in Brazil as compared to the previous wave is also true for the Indian scenario. The lockdown in the states during the second wave was not as strict as last year’s and the Government of India never announced a central lockdown, but economy shrunk regardless. This is peculiar and points to some loopholes in the Centre’s approach. It is high time that that we look to countries like Brazil, which are on the same level as India in many ways.
Seattle setting vaccination goals for the world
Cities are leading the vaccination drive of the United States of America (USA). Jenny A Durkan, Mayor, Seattle, announced that the city is first in the country to fully vaccinate 70 per cent of the population. It is past its second
