ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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Beyond Remorse to Reflection: Curating a Strategy for Research and Response for Adolescents in India post COVID-19

Global data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents show that >150 million children and adolescents in 165 countries have been affected by the pandemic-induced closures ( Xiang et al 2020 ). This article presents experiences and conversations around the pandemic’s effect on the adolescent population and the need for spotlighting and vulnerabilities of adolescent girls, specifically, in India. The article tries to establish the need for deeper introspection on “successes and learnings” of responses across development programmes designed to address the impact of the pandemic with this population group of Koppal district, Karnataka.

Gendered Impact on Unemployment: A Case Study of India during the COVID-19 Pandemic

India witnessed one of the worst coronavirus crises in the world. The pandemic induced sharp contraction in economic activity that caused unemployment to rise, upheaving the existing gender divides in the country. Using monthly data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy on subnational economies of India from January 2019 to May 2021, we find that a) unemployment gender gap narrowed during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison to the pre-pandemic era, largely driven by male unemployment dynamics, b) the recovery in the post-lockdown periods had spillover effects on the unemployment gender gap in rural regions, and c) the unemployment gender gap during the national lockdown period was narrower than the second wave.

Green Finance: Perspectives in Sustainable Finance Instruments

Green bonds are financial instruments that deliver both returns and environmentally positive outcomes. They can be a key part of strategies to incorporate climate action into financial decision-making and help developing countries meet their Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goal obligations. While their total volume increased, their effectiveness in promoting sustainability—especially in post-pandemic recovery—looks questionable.

Covid Nationalism and Its Discontents in China

Between 2020 and 2022, China imposed a rigorous zero-Covid policy to control its spread and keep the infections and fatalities at or near zero. Stringent lockdowns, frequent PCR tests, and strict restrictions on entry into China were important features of this policy. Although extremely successful during the first two years of the pandemic in preventing the spread of deadly COVID-19 variants such as the Delta, the policy proved ineffective against the Omicron variant. This article examines China’s response to the spread of COVID-19, the framing of this response through nationalist narratives, and the eventual chaotic pivot from zero-Covid policy.

The Pandemic of Hunger: Testing Times in Bhoka

Odia film Bhoka highlights the fissures in a fractured society, exploring the struggle for survival in a pandemic of hunger.

COVID-19 Forecasting and Investigating the Impact of the Lockdown in India

The paper attempts to forecast the growth pattern of the COVID-19 spread in India and examines the impact of the lockdown on its spread and deaths. Comparing different models for short-term forecasts—hybrid autoregressive integrated moving average with errorremodelling using fast Fourier transform—has been found to have better accuracy. It is observed that the data set starting from the first phase of the lockdown generates more accurate estimates. The impact analysis shows a clear trend break on 3 March for confirmed cases and 11 March for the deaths.

Drug Price Control in India

Price control of life-saving essential medicines is the need of the hour, but the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has allowed a hike of 10% in nearly 800 drugs and devices listed under the National List of Essential Medicines from 1 April 2022 because of the rising input costs. Prices of scheduled drugs are allowed an increase each year acc­ording to the wholesale price index. Input costs are rising primarily because India is heavily dependent on China for drug imports.

Impact of the Pandemic on Growth of the States

The slump and recovery in growth varied substantially and adversely affected disparate states.

Public Health for All

Universalising Healthcare in India: From Care to Coverage edited by Imrana Qadeer, K B Saxena and P M Arathi, Delhi: Aakar Books, 2019; pp 475, `1,495.

Need for Credit Resilience Score in India

Paired with the borrower score/ rating, a credit resilience score would better equip the fi nancial institutions to account for borrower resilience and make credit decisions accordingly. The requirement for CRS in India helps credit to fl ow uninterruptedly during good and bad times. Recognising the parameters used in the existing credit score for individuals and corporate credit rating, a framework for the development of CRS is suggested.

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