BEIJING, July 13: China’s economy is showing steady recovery, but a hard battle still lies ahead as the situation remains severe both at home and abroad, state radio quoted Premier Li Keqiang as saying on Monday.

Desperate informal sector

June 22, 2020 13:00 pm

Those in the informal sector have already been disproportionately harmed by the pandemic. They are the ones the governments struggle most to reach with targeted policies and relief.

Recession fears were hovering even before the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis. There were lots of predictions about the global recession in 2020. Widespread trade tensions among countries, Brexit uncertainty and slow growth in Eurozone, Asian market slowdown, erratic commodities price were some of the reasons for a global recession in 2020. The argument for and against it was there on its highest altitude. However, once the coronavirus appeared as an unwanted guest, the global economy slid into gloomy states, and the recession ensued.

Let there be food

May 3, 2020 16:03 pm

Although the COVID-2019 epidemic is primarily a public health crisis, its impact on other sectors including the agriculture supply chain has started to be visible. The outbreak has already caused significant economic disruption around the world and is likely to continue to do so for some length of time. Regarding agriculture, it has an effect on both the supply-side and the demand side. Restrictions on the movement of goods and people have significant socio-economic repercussions on people's livelihoods. They often lead to disruption of market chains and trade of agricultural products, with significant potential impacts on the populations that depend on them for their livelihoods and their food and nutrition security. Supply chain management (SCM) in agriculture implies managing the relationships between the businesses responsible for the efficient production and supply of products from the farm level to the consumers.

Food for all

April 30, 2020 17:30 pm

Many uncertainties haunt the world’s campaign to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, but one thing is now sure: Global economic activity will suffer greatly, with large-scale consequences for the incomes and welfare of all, but especially for the most vulnerable food import-dependent countries.

WASHINGTON, April 29: The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country and began triggering a recession that will end the longest expansion on record.

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD, April 15: India will allow industries located in the countryside to reopen next week, as well as resuming farm activities to reduce the pain for millions of people hit by a lengthy shutdown in its coronavirus battle, the government said on Wednesday.

World is changing

April 7, 2020 09:07 am

The casualty figures show no sign of stopping anytime soon. With the number of COVID-19 infected and deceased going up by the day, governments across Europe and North America are scrambling to put measures in place. At the same time, talks of how the world will look like after the containment of the virus are slowly starting to emerge. New York Times columnist Thomas Freidman writes that the world will now have a new historical divide, BC—before corona and AC—after corona—while acclaimed author Yuval Noah Harrari feels that in the post COVID world, people might have to forgo their privacy for the sake of their health. Many others have their own arguments.

TOKYO, April 6: Japan will declare a state of emergency as early as Tuesday in a bid to stop the coronavirus, media reported, with the government preparing a stimulus package to soften the blow on an economy already struggling to avoid a recession.