On Sunday, January 23, India reported more than 333,000 active COVID cases while the official number of fatalities surpassed 500 deaths. What is the state of COVID in India today? What lessons has this pandemic imparted? And what, if anything, does COVID mean for the future of economics and politics in the country. 

To discuss these questions and to kick off the seventh season of the podcast, Milan speaks with Sukumar Ranganathan, editor-in-chief of the Hindustan Times, on the show this week.

Milan asks Sukumar to assess India’s COVID response, the impact the pandemic has had on federalism, and whether India’s economy has turned a corner. Plus, Milan and Sukumar discuss whether COVID has fundamentally changed India’s future economic and political trajectories.

1. Sukumar Ranganathan, “In 2022, what India must do to learn to live with Covid,” Hindustan Times, December 11, 2021.
2. “Anup Malani on India’s COVID Second Wave,” Grand Tamasha, April 27, 2021.
3. “Niha Masih on Reporting on India's COVID-19 Crisis,” Grand Tamasha, June 16, 2021