'The world and India likely won't have a vaccine that is widely administered till the end of 2021.' 'In the meantime, clear communication would help,' observes Rahul Jacob.
Listening -- really listening -- to advisers in the government and outside would help. India has plenty of wise economists who have worked within the bureaucracy during previous crises, points out Rahul Jacob.
'As we gird ourselves for rising infections, India's harsh lockdown remains an epic tragedy,' observes Rahul Jacob.
As with the Spanish flu, the world must be ready for a second and third wave as this start-stop-start-stop response plays out, recommends Rahul Jacob.
'The rate of transmission of COVID-19 in Hong Kong was 0.7 -- anything below 1 suggests the epidemic is receding.' 'The city-State achieved this without the de facto police-State curfew that India has resorted to,' says Rahul Jacob.
'Our government's claim that there are no undetected cases of infection that happened within our bustling cities because of exposure to infected international travellers are not credible,' notes Rahul Jacob.
'The prime minister's announcement of a nation-wide shutdown was eloquent, but should have been more clearly phrased to avoid police overreach.' 'Migrant labour should have been allowed adequate notice and transport options to get home,' notes Rahul Jacob.
'Infectious disease is a given of humankind. There will always be another around the corner.'
Does an invitation to visit India bring bad luck to majoritarian demagogues? asks Rahul Jacob.
We should all bow before the legend that is Leander, says Rahul Jacob.
'The lessons from tiny New Zealand about mobilising to prevent an environment going up in flames around us and combatting the feral Whatsapp politics of hatred are in many ways Gandhian,' says Rahul Jacob.
Do a straw poll of any business friends and you will laugh and weep at what they go through, points out Rahul Jacob.
Great chefs are alchemists. They put ingredients and flavours together in ways that are sometimes unfathomable, says Rahul Jacob.
'Without bold action to deal with our banking crisis, count on the economy's doldrums to continue for much longer than most of us anticipate,' says Rahul Jacob.
Despite presiding over scores of factories in what is today India's largest garment exporter with 105,000 employees, Ahuja is a modest man with much to be immodest about. He tells Rahul Jacob that the government needs a free trade agreement with Europe fast to ensure a level-playing field with Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Despite the Congress having nearly four times as many members in the Rajya Sabha as the TMC (48 to 13), Derek O'Brien has been informally leading the coordination of Opposition parties, rallying other parties to demand a discussion on electoral reforms and to protest the government's disinvestment plans, report Rahul Jacob and Archis Mohan.
'In this season of inspired mean-spirited campaigning, it still seemed remarkable that we are more likely to learn civics lessons from school children than our leaders,' says Rahul Jacob.
'When you come through the hassles and struggles of business life, your mind is wired differently.' 'You are more connected to reality,' Akali Dal MP Naresh Gujral tells Rahul Jacob and Archis Mohan
'What will this supposedly more business-friendly government do if it gets a second term?' 'Important labour law and land reforms remain off the table.' 'Witness the arm-twisting of foreign players in e-commerce and all but one player in telecom -- and it is very hard to justify this perception that the BJP is business friendly.' 'There will also remain the real risk of ideas seemingly gleaned from the pages of Amar Chitra Katha, overlaid with PowerPoint presentations,' predicts Rahul Jacob.
'It's a dream, but will I give it up? No bloody way,' Umesh Pandey, the former Bangkok Post editor turned Opposition candidate, tells Rahul Jacob.
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