Day 420: Looking back at India’s Containment Plan

08/05/2021 Day 420 Looking back at the Containment Plan Looking back at India’s Containment Plan of the Government of India in April 2021 it is striking that it did not build for scenarios as the current second wave. The keywords in the plan are policy decisions and technical inputs. In retrospect, that plan looks woefully … Continue reading Day 420: Looking back at India’s Containment Plan →

Day 419: Vaccinating the world needs a talk first

07/05/2021 Day 419: Vaccinating the world needs a talk first By the 419th day of the pandemic, there’s a raging debate about IP on vaccines and how to speed up production. Industry associations, the EU and almost other influential trade bodies that matter in agreement that IP is not the issue in the current crisis. … Continue reading Day 419: Vaccinating the world needs a talk first →

When was the last time the world cared for morality?

If there is a time since the great wars when universal values of solidarity and selfless cooperation were tested, it will be now. It will pivot on the issue of sharing the intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines. Pfizer has raised its vaccine sales forecast to USD 26 billion. The company is hopeful about a … Continue reading When was the last time the world cared for morality? →

Covid Cess: We will be paying for the pandemic for years

Taking the cess route to raise more revenues by the states and central governments was expected. As the pandemic hit a year's mark in March, 2021 it was clear that the people will be paying for the pandemic for years to come and in a variety of ways. Uttar Pradesh government is levying a covid … Continue reading Covid Cess: We will be paying for the pandemic for years →

Day 415: What’s wrong?

03/05/2021 Day 415: What's going wrong? More of watching the pandemic unfolding and governments’ response today. The trend maintains itself - as a state climbs up the chart of number of infections and deaths there begins a rapid regulatory failure of its key agencies. Drug regulator failed long back when the run on remdesivir began. … Continue reading Day 415: What’s wrong? →

Day 411: Numbers

Source: Press Information Bureau of India 29/04/2021 Day 411: Numbers These days life is back to the same rhythm of early days of the pandemic. In between reading, writing, cooking and work calls there is a stream of situations and news updates. There is a constant need to keep a tab on how people and … Continue reading Day 411: Numbers →

Day 407: Overwhelmed

Data Dashboard of India. Source: news.google.com 25/04/2021 Day 407: Overwhelmed This morning, on the 407th day of the pandemic in India, the numbers look as though Covid-19 has just begun showing its potential and possibilities of what it can do to a population. The lockdowns are back. The central government has made it clear that … Continue reading Day 407: Overwhelmed →

Day 400: Second Wave

18/04/2021 It is the 400th day since the first lockdown and official pandemic response began in India. Where are we today? In the depths of an intense second wave of Covid-19! India has reported more than 200,000 positive cases and about 1185 deaths today. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh … Continue reading Day 400: Second Wave →

Keeping Count

Day 347 Keeping a count was an instinctive move when the pandemic began. It served the limited purpose of having a sense of temporal distance in these extraordinary times. It is the 347th day since the first lockdown. A month more and it will be a year of the pandemic. India has moved from initial … Continue reading Keeping Count →

Day 277: Horizons

27/12/2020 Day 277 Barry Lopez died today. The uncertainty about life this year has played out consistently. Yet, every time I am taken aback. I expected a few more essays and thoughts coming from the man as the year turned and perhaps a few more reflections when all this is over. It was not to … Continue reading Day 277: Horizons →