Heena Sharma Blog

Cash-strapped Pakistan has received an emergency loan of $1.39 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost its foreign exchange reserves in the wake of the coronavirus crisis . The $1.39 billion loan is in addition to the $6 billion bailout package that Pakistan had signed with the IMF in July last year to stave off a balance of payment crisis. "SBP (State Bank of Pakistan) has received $1.39 billion under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) from the IMF," the central bank said in a tweet on Wednesday. Pakistan in March had requested the global moneylender for a low-cost, fast-disbursing loan under its Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to deal with the adverse economic impact of the pandemic. The RFI is used to provide financial assistance to IMF member countries facing an urgent balance of payments need without requiring them to put a full-fledged programme in place. Read More

As the Narendra Modi -led central government continues to pick pieces in the puzzle to rein in the coronavirus pandemic in India, the economic costs of the nationwide lockdown on millions of poor could be catastrophic. Projections based on a recent analysis by researchers at the United Nations University (UNU) show that, in the worst case scenario, 104 million more people in India could fall below the World Bank-determined poverty line of $3.2 a day for lower-middle-income countries. At present, 60 per cent of India’s population, or an estimated 812 million people, live below that poverty line. In effect, the coronavirus pandemic and the economic consequences of an extended business shutdown could swell the ranks of India’s poorest to 915 million. From 60 per cent, the proportion of people below the poverty line could increase to 68 per cent – a situation seen in the country more than a decade ago. Much of the Indian government’s efforts to mitigate poverty over the years coul