COVID-19 Pandemic: How India and Russia Are Responding to the Crisis

Amidst a global shift of focus towards the Coronavirus pandemic, India and Russia along with the rest of the world have responded to the crisis uniquely, based on population size, infection and death rates, and testing strategies among others. As the social, political, and economic ramifications of these responses start playing up, what can be said about India and Russia's strategies and effectiveness in dealing with the pandemic? What roles are multilateral institutions like the WHO and the UN going to assume and can they be expected to change moving forward? How will the pandemic affect future agenda formation in BRICS? How will the response to this pandemic have an impact on future policymaking vis-à-vis climate change? How well equipped are India and Russia to deal with the impact of the crisis on their domestic population, economies, and politics? What will be the central challenges for both nations in the future in dealing with the crisis efficiently? What lessons can both India and Russia learn from the world and also export to it from individual experiences? Nivedita Kapoor, Junior Fellow with ORF’s Strategic Studies Programme, in conversation with Oommen C. Kurian, Senior Fellow & Head of Health Initiative at ORF and Dr. Igor Makarov, Head of the School of World Economy at National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), Moscow, as part of the collaboration between ORF and the Valdai Discussion Club, Russia discusses the Indian and Russian models of dealing with the Coronavirus crisis, crucial socio-political and economic ramifications, and takeaways from the global experience. #IndiaRussia #COVID19India #COVID19Russia #2008FinancialCrisis #NonCOVIDHealthcare #OilCrisis #RussiaOilPriceWar #NationalHealthInsuranceScheme #RussiaCOVIDResponse #IndiaCOVIDResponse #RisingUnemployment #EffectiveTestingStrategies