POLIICAL ECONOMY OF CONTROVERSIES OVER THE ORIGIN OF COVID-19 and its Impact on the World and India

Description

This book examines the issues of origin and the controversies over its origin while dealing with transmission of Covid-19 across the countries and its economic impact on the world and India. As Covid-19 was first detected in China in December 2019. the US targeted China as if it produced a bioweapon. China retaliated by claiming that the US imported it into China Three other conspiracy theories are also examined. WHO’s three teams visited China to investigate into the origin of Covid-19 and the final report weighed towards direct zoonotic transmission to humans. The book considers how the US could not tackle Covid-19 effectively due to Trump’s individualistic and political attitude. It also describes how globalisation and neoliberal capitalism of the 20th and 21st centuries created conditions for disease causing organisms through more environmental pollution and ecological imbalances in anthropocene. There was economic slowdown at the global level and in almost all the countries due to lockdowns and supply chain constraints. Despite stimulus packages, the growth across the countries and the global level was estimated to be negative for 2020-21 as per the IMF Reports. The cases and the deaths of Covid-19 at global level and among some countries have been analysed. These aspects are dealt with distinctly for India. The Government of India packages of Atmanirbhar 10. 2.0 and 3.0 and their impact on recovery are discussed in a detailed manner. The mass exodus of India’s internal migrant labour from destination to place of origin and the hardships faced by them during the four lockdowns due to reverse migration are analysed.

Akina Venkateswarlu received his double graduation (BSc and BA) and MA (Economics) from Osmania University. He was awarded his MPhil.and PhD degrees from Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. His PhD guide was the late Prof. GKChadha. He taught for 16 years in government colleges, and worked for about 7 years in the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad. He was ICSSR Senior Fellow (2012-14) at CESS. Since retirement from government, he has been a consultant at CESS. He has to his credit 6 books. 3 CESS working papers manuscripts, 30 papers published in journals and edited volumes. His recent book, Political Economy of Agricultural Development in India (Aakar Books) has been well received.