Even though the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the US and European Union has captured the world’s attention, one should not lose sight of the pandemic and its associated health, economic and financial stability challenges in the rest of the world. As the COVID-19 pandemic advances globally, Africa and South Asia are witnessing a surge in the number of new cases lately, and these regions could soon become its next epicenters in the coming weeks….

Trade Ministers from G20 countries met on 30^th March, days after the heads of states and governments of the major economies for an Extraordinary Summit meeting, to take a coordinated stand in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In these extraordinary times, the Trade Ministers agreed that the “international community to step up cooperation and coordination to protect human life and lay the foundations for a strong economic recovery and a sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth.”

In times when…

In March 2020, foreign investors pulled out a record Rs.1182 billion (US$16 bn) from the Indian financial markets as the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic triggered panic selling across all emerging markets. As per official data released by the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) together pulled out Rs.619 bn ($8.3 bn) from the equity segment and Rs.603 bn ($8.1 bn) from the debt segment in March (see Table 1).

The capital…