The idea’s bad implementation has put human lives at greater risk with health and livelihoods both at stake Two weeks ago, in this column, I argued that India needs to significantly restrict travel and enforce social distancing through a shutdown combined with a universal basic income (UBI) or similarly designed non-means-tested direct cash transfer).
I argued this knowing a shutdown would have dire economic consequences for the 275 million Indians below the poverty line and the 300-400 million who are vulnerable to economic stress as they are daily-wage earners or informal-sector workers.
My reason was that India’s healthcare capacity is so low that it cannot handle even a small outbreak of Covid-19, let alone the kind of experience Italy