open view news desk

KOLKATA, MAY 6: Under unique initiative of the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC India), 40 economists and academics of renowned Indian and international institutions have pieced together their assessment of the economic, social and political impact of Covid-19, debating how India may emerge as an alternate manufacturing hub to China, even as globalisation takes a hit in the post-pandemic world.

The compendium of well-researched articles, ranging from challenges of lockdown, impact on trade, fall-out on exports and MSMEs and the emerging challenges for economic diplomacy has been brought out by the EEPC India   in collaboration with the ASEAN-India Centre (AIC) at Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).

“In particular, the publication, titled ‘COVID-19: Challenges for the Indian Economy – Trade and Foreign Policy Effects’ examines the magnitude and the  impact of the crisis on Indian economy – is it shallow or deep, and the scope to rebound, particularly  from the point of view of exports. Several economists and scholars also suggested various methods for managing the immediate challenges of business and income loss for the people while battling it out with the global  pandemic,” wrote Mr Suranjan Gupta, Executive Director of the EEPC India and Dr Prabir De, Professor at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) in their joint contribution.

The distinguished economists and academics were drawn from top institutions and universities. These included Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Indian Council of Research on International Economic Research (ICRIER), School of Environmental and Forestry Sciences, University of Washington, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Indian Institute of Management and Jadavpur University, among others.

“Although India has managed well till date in containing the spread of the virus, the COVID-19 pandemic has already disrupted normal economic activity and life in our country. India’s trade has been severely impacted. People have a sudden loss of their income, causing a major drop in demand. To rescue the economy, India has announced impressive fiscal and monetary stimulus packages. This pandemic has strong foreign and trade policy effects,” said Dr Mohan Kumar, Chairman, RIS.

Sharing a practitioner’s  ground  report, EEPC Chairman Mr Ravi Sehgal said, “Pandemic comes at a worst of time when global economic order is already exposed to rising trade protectionism, ongoing  tariff wars, unilateral economic sanctions, standstill at WTO talks, waning economic and financial institutions and lack of mutual trust, wisdom and initiation among global leadership”.