Many in the west believe that spending will save the economy in the wake of Covid-19. Arvind Panagariya argues debt must be kept under control if economies are to survive the crisis, and that India is showing early signs of getting it right. 

A strict lockdown, beginning on March 24, initially kept Covid-19 cases in India at low levels.  But amid a phased lifting of lockdown measures, the cases have surged.  As of July 11, 2020, the total number of cases at 850,000 is the third largest in the world, behind only Brazil (1.8 million cases) and the United States (3.2 million cases).  Taking recovery and deaths into account, the number of active cases is far smaller at 292,000.

SUGGESTED READING Groundbreaking economics at HowTheLightGetsIn By When seen against India’s vast population of 1.35 billion - compared with 210 million in Brazil and 328 million in the United States - so far, India has done well in managing the crisis.  Indeed, India’s management looks particularly impressive when measured by the number of deaths despite its large size and low level of per-capita income. As of July 11, 2020, the total number of Covid-19 deaths stands at 22,674 in India, 71,469 in Brazil and 134,817 in the United States.  Indeed, several countries with fewer cases of infection than India, such as the United Kingdom, Mexico, Spain and Italy, have seen significantly larger number of deaths.