By Isaac Harold Gomes
Kolkata, April 8, 2020: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has formed a Global Advisory Committee in the eastern Indian state to prepare the eastern Indian state’s policy to respond to Covid-19 pandemic.
The team set up on April 7 will tackle the economic and social fallout of the Coronavirus pandemic on West Bengal.
The pandemic has broken the backbone of healthcare, logistics and economy of more than 200 countries worldwide, including France, Germany, Italy, Span and the United States. It has particularly hurt India, one of the fastest developing economies in terms of Gross Domestic Product.
Banerjee has roped in Nobel Laureate economist Abhijit Banerjee to head the committee that has doctors among its members.
The advisory team will be “expanded” over time. The government has not published the terms of reference of the committee’s work.
According to the chief minister, the 21-day lockdown since March 25 has badly affected the state’s revenues. She also sees “uncertainty” over normal resumption of economic activity, even after the federal government withdraws the restrictions. She says her initiative is to buttress the shock.
Earlier on April 7, Professor Siddharth Chandra of James Madison College in the United States told a national TV channel that the prolonged lockdown would be economically unstable.
In the same evening, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy published statistics that showed the lockdown increasing unemployment to 24 percent.
In a video conference with Banerjee and her team on April 7, Abhijit Banerjee (no relation) made suggested creating a structure for reporting COVID-19 cases. For example if in an area it is noticed that 20-25 persons are sneezing and coughing, it should be reported over a designated Helpline which will be widely circulated. He also wants the state to conduct more tests.
The chief minister agreed to implement his recommendations.