Best of BS Opinion: Covid-19 outbreak, politics of messaging, and more

Confirmed cases of Covid-19 continue to rise in India. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked citizens to show “collective resolve” against the pandemic, the spread of Covid-19 and its potential impact of the economy is worrying. Business Standard Opinion pieces for the day talk about various aspects of the pandemic.

One should expect a quarter or two when the economy shrinks, and after that a slow recovery. Slow, because of the time needed by closed firms to start up again, tight fiscal constraints, an unfriendly trade environment, lower consumption as household budgets reflect lay-offs and pay cuts, and therefore an investment famine, writes T N Ninan
 

Modi knows who he needs to speak to, who he should toss, and who he can address in kind. So, poke fun at taali, thaali, diya and mombatti. He couldn’t care less, writes Shekhar Gupta
 

Many heads of government are prone to bouts of myopia and grave miscalculation at moments of national crisis. Beating Donald
Trump, Boris Johnson and Imran Khan in the race, a cringe-worthy standout example is Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, notes Sunil Sethi

 Quote
 

“It is considered that citizens are akin to God in this country. From time to time we recognise the strength of 1.3 billion people and that gives us strength in this fight against coronavirus.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi