India’s bureaucrats are fighting covid-19 with red tape
It is not going very well
IN MID-MAY, seeking to reflate his political buoyancy after weeks of covid-19 lockdown, Narendra Modi announced a new ideology. Henceforth, said India’s prime minister, the nation would strive for atmanirbharta, or self-reliance. It may be that North Korea’s unlamented Great Leader, Kim Il Sung, got there first with his slogan of juche, which means much the same thing. Yet the clunky Hindi word does seem to have caught on, albeit less with the Indian public than with their bureaucratic overlords.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Circulars, directives and rules”
From the June 13th 2020 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Asia
Can Donald Trump maintain Joe Biden’s network of Asian alliances?
Discipline and creativity will help, but so will China’s actions
What North Korea gains by sending troops to fight for Russia
Resources, technology, experience and a blood-soaked IOU
Is Arkadag the world’s greatest football team?
What could possibly explain the success of a club founded by Turkmenistan’s dictator
After the president’s arrest, what next for South Korea?
Some 3,000 police breached his compound. The country is dangerously divided
India’s Faustian pact with Russia is strengthening
The gamble behind $17bn of fresh deals with the Kremlin on oil and arms
AUKUS enters its fifth year. How is the pact faring?
It has weathered two big political changes. What about Donald Trump’s return?