De-lockdown needs a better foundation

The Disaster Management Act, 2005, is ill suited to be the main economic law of the country

There was considerable concern when India began one of the most extreme lockdowns in the world. Significant progress on a pragmatic process of de-lockdown is now visible. There are weaknesses in the legal and institutional apparatus through which economic policy is being done, in this environment. It is likely that the pandemic will be with us for a while. Hence, there is merit in establishing a better legal and institutional foundation for economic policy for the pandemic.

Elsewhere in the world, the restrictions associated with Covid-19 employ softer terms like “shelter in place”. In India, the more muscular term “lockdown” has