In this article for Mint, Niranjan Rajadhyaksha notes how the vaccination drive and the lessons learnt from last year can be used to limit the economic losses from the second wave of the pandemic.

Excerpts from the article:

"It is important that enough people are vaccinated before India’s festival season, so that consumer demand gets back on track..."

"...governments as well as the private sector now have experience of managing during lockdowns. The most important lesson is that the movement of goods should not be hindered even if the movement of people is...In a complex economy based on supply chains, what may seem non-essential to a government functionary may be absolutely essential to a producer."

"...a strong recovery in domestic demand can make a temporary fiscal expansion less risky than it may seem otherwise. Despite the necessary concerns about public debt sustainability, the main policy response to another economic dip should be led by fiscal rather than monetary policy."

Read the full article here.