The German Marshall Fund of the United States

  • Our Organization
    • About GMF
      The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) strengthens transatlantic cooperation on regional, national, and global challenges and opportunities in the spirit of the Marshall Plan.

    Transatlantic Offices

    • Washington, DC
    • Ankara
    • Belgrade
    • Berlin
    • Brussels
    • Bucharest
    • Paris
    • Warsaw
    • Alliance for Securing Democracy
  • Our Work
    • Policy
      GMF provides effective ways forward to solving today’s transatlantic policy issues.
    • Leadership
      GMF programs offer rising leaders dynamic opportunities to hone their leadership skills.
    • Civil Society
      GMF supports civil society by fostering democratic initiatives, rule of law, and regional cooperation.
    • Research
      GMF publications examine the challenges facing the transatlantic region today and offer policy recommendations to address these challenges.
    • Perspectives
      Media, blogs, podcasts, video on the issues shaping the transatlantic relationship.
  • Our Events
    • Major Conferences & Forums
      GMF brings together hundreds of policymakers, elected officials, academics, and business leaders from around the world to discuss topics from energy to migration, economics to security, urban growth to diplomacy.
    • Recent & Upcoming Events
      GMF is committed to bringing the policy community together around transatlantic topics. Learn about events in its offices and other locations around the world.
  • Our Experts
  • Stay Informed
Search
Home
  • Our Experts
  • ABOUT US
  • FOUNDING CHAIRMAN
  • EXPERTS
  • LATEST RESEARCH
  • NEWS&EVENTS
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • SUPPORT CHARHAR

The Charhar Institute

  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Founding Chairman
    • Membership
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Support Charhar
  • Regions

    • All Regions
    • America
    • Europe&Middle East
    • Asia
    • Africa&Latin America
    • Indo-Pacific
  • Topics

    • All Topics
    • Public Diplomacy and International Relations
    • Belt & Road Initiative
    • The Korean Peninsula
    • Economic and Trade
    • Communication
    • Law, Culture and Religion
    • Energy, Safety and Peace
  • Experts

  • Publications

    • All Publications
    • Public Dipmacy Quarterly
    • Other books and reports
    • Charhar Public Diplomacy series
    • Charhar Newsletter
    • Charhar International Relations series
    • Introduction to Public Diplomacy
  • News&Events

    • News&Events
    • Public Diplomacy
    • Peace Studies
    • Belt & Road
    • Charhar News
    • Announcement
    • For Media
Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram LinkedIn
ForeignAffairs.com
  • ABOUT US
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
  • FOUNDING CHAIRMAN
  • EXPERTS
  • LATEST RESEARCH
  • NEWS&EVENTS
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • SUPPORT CHARHAR

NEWS&EVENTS

Canadian Ambassador to China Dominic Barton visited the Charhar Institute

November 26, 2020

More Chinese relief materials sent to South Korea

March 06, 2020

Chinese NGO donates epidemic prevention materials to S. Korea

March 05, 2020

Han Fangming gives a send-off to Nepalese Ambassador Leela Mani Paudyal

March 05, 2020

Singapore’s new ambassador Lui Tuck Yew visits The Charhar Institute

January 16, 2020

Nepal ’s ambassador visits The Charhar Institute

January 10, 2020
More

Energy, Safety and Peace

Impact of ‘Trumpism’ on US constitutionalism, democracy dies hard

January 13, 2021

How will Biden confront Trump's foreign policy legacy?

January 13, 2021

Law, Culture and Religion

Israel's diplomatic breakthrough in Maghreb faces challenges

December 11, 2020

Meng ruling makes Ottawa new front line between Washington and Beijing

May 29, 2020

Communication

He Wenping: Fake news fails in damaging Sino-African ties

January 31, 2019

Resistance from within the White House

September 10, 2018

Economic and Trade

Challenges for the G20 in overcoming the pandemic

November 26, 2020

Liberalization and non-interference by government will clean up Pakistan'...

July 07, 2020

The Korean Peninsula

Su Hao: Tokyo should give ground to resolve tensions with Seoul over ‘comfo...

June 26, 2019

Swaran Singh: Can next U.S.-DPRK meeting be expected?

June 12, 2019

Belt & Road Initiative

China-Africa unity sees friendship of new era

January 05, 2021

Unchangeable Commitment

February 19, 2020

Public Diplomacy and International Relations

Morrison's misjudgment on China-Australia relations

December 11, 2020

Travesty to tarnish normal defense moves as wolf warrior diplomacy

December 10, 2020
More

Introduction to Public Diplomacy

Diplomatic Theory and Practice

June 21, 2018

Introduction to Public Diplomacy 2nd Edition

June 20, 2018

Charhar International Relations series

International Public Product: China and the World at the Midst of Revolut...

June 21, 2018

Power and Wealth: Economic Nationalism and International Relationships und...

June 21, 2018

Charhar Newsletter

Charhar Newsletter

August 16, 2018

Charhar Public Diplomacy series

Winning the Chinese Hearts and Souls

June 20, 2018

City Diplomacy: China’s Practice and Foreign Experience

June 20, 2018

Other books and reports

The impotence of conventional arms control

March 25, 2020

How Did Stalin Fall into the “Thucydides Trap”

February 27, 2020

Public Dipmacy Quarterly

Public Diplomacy Quarterly

August 17, 2018
More

India uses multi-pronged plan to fight virus

April 15 ,2020
A doctor wearing a protective suit takes a swab from a man, who is under home quarantine, to test for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a neighbourhood in Ahmedabad, India, April 7, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

As the number of novel coronavirus cases in India rises sharply-exceeding 10,000 on Tuesday-the international community is feeling increasingly worried because of the country's massive population of 1.3 billion and relatively low human development indexes. Many experts already say India has moved from the early stages of mostly imported cases and local transmissions to community transmission, which could overwhelm the country's healthcare system.

This fear is also triggered by the fact that trajectories of the spread and control in China, India and the United States the world's three largest countries in terms of population-have varied far too widely to help any reliable prognosis for India's advance planning. The same is true of mid-sized countries that are now being typecast into success and failure categories. With some of these experiencing a "second wave" of infections as many cured people have tested positive for the virus again, all these cases remain inconclusive.

So despite its "advantage" of encountering the outbreak later than other countries, the lessons from China's success or the US' failure or any other country's experience are of limited value and veracity to India. Yet how India handles the outbreak will have major implications on the global war against the pandemic.

Prima facie, India has followed a robust multi-pronged strategy to contain the virus: A nationwide lockdown from March 25 followed by identifying and sealing of hotspots; identifying, testing and quarantining those that have come in contact with infected people; treating the infected; and increasing the number of tests per day by co-opting private testing laboratories.

India is seeking to turn the fight against the virus into a "people's movement" by engaging all domestic and global stakeholders, including the private sector. Many institutions, virologists and epidemiologists, doctors and engineers are collaborating to develop a vaccine; in fact, the trials have already moved to animal testing. Many private companies, from those in the auto sector to breweries, have shifted production to make cost-effective ventilators, testing kits, hand sanitizers, face masks, and personal protective equipment.

To boost the moral of frontline workers-especially doctors, nurses and other health workers in hospitals-governments at different levels have announced special insurance covers and other incentives. Some provinces have made unprecedented moves. For example, the Andhra Pradesh provincial government has taken over 58 private hospitals while the Delhi provincial government has been providing frontline health workers with food from the city's five-star hostels, which have come forward to help fight the virus.

Over the weekend, the provincial governments readily supported the central government's idea of extending the three-week nationwide lockdown. On Tuesday, the Indian central government extended the lockdown to May 3. By sealing infection hotspots, so as to contain community transmissions, the extended nationwide lockdown will add a different dimension to India's fight against the epidemic.

What also lends hope is the Indian prime minister tackling the crisis by adopting a hands-on approach, holding regular videoconferences with provincial leaders, and national and foreign diplomats, as well as opposition leaders and officials (even calling health workers) while setting up a dozen special committees and two ministerial committees to coordinate work on healthcare and economic packages. India's senior officials have also been attending the videoconferences initiated by Washington and Beijing.

The pandemic has also injected new energy into India-China relations. In January, India sent medical and other emergency supplies to China in the aircraft that flew to Wuhan to bring back Indian students from the epicenter of the outbreak in China and is now receiving medical supplies from China.

Also, thanks partly to China's supplies of active pharmaceutical ingredients, India is a leader in producing cost-effective generic medicines with its pharmaceutical production being the third highest in the world in terms of volume, although it ranks 13th in value. India's supply of hydroxychloroquine-an antimalarial drug being used to treat COVID-19 patients-has become a hot commodity worldwide, with more than 30 countries, including the US, placing orders for urgent supplies that India has agreed to provide.

But India has also had its share of challenges, with media outlets worldwide reporting on thousands of migrant workers leaving major Indian cities in hoards last month in defiance against instructions on social distancing, because they didn't have enough money to buy food or pay house rentals. Despite detecting the first COVID-19 case on Jan 30 and reporting the first death on March 12, India managed to delay its spread for weeks, but the numbers have now begun to rise.

Hopefully, the fact that India is the only country to impose a nationwide lockdown, first for three weeks and then extending it by another 19 days, will help it improve on China's example in flattening the curve and containing the virus.


Source: China Daily, April 15, 2020

Author

Swaran SINGH

Adjunct Senior Fellow

Stay Informed

Don't miss our latest dynamic. Sign up to receive emailed news, events, opinion, and publication notifications.

Subscribe

Follow

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • Youtube
  • SoundCloud
  • Instagram
Charhar Institute
  • About Us
  • Founding Chairman
  • Experts
  • Latest Research
  • News&Events
  • Publications
  • Support Charhar
  • Careers

 

"The Charhar Institute is committed to promoting progress in China’s foreign policies and the development of international relations in a more orderly manner."
- Dr Han Fangming,Charhar Chairman

CONTACT US

  • Phone:+86 10 68290431
  • Fax:010-80777830
  • Email:secretariat@charhar.org.cn
  • Facebook:The Charhar Institute
  • Twitter:@CharharINST

©2021 Charhar Institute. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy and Terms of Use