What if it doesn't work, that's the fear.

The jobs market in India is beginning to pick after lifting of the lockdown, wrote Gautam Das. "Now, with India opening up, delivery jobs continue to remain hot -- in fact, today, the entire logistics supply chain signals some sort of green shoots in India's employment market. "BPOs are rebounding" and "a higher demand for collection professionals in the financial industry is expected soon". On site healthcare for those quarantined at home and online education are also in demand. "Modern governments depend heavily on large surveys as well as administrative data to track their respective economies," wrote Niranjan Rajadhyaksha. "Such data is the bedrock of estimates on gross domestic product (GDP), industrial production, farm output, inflation etc." "The covid-19 shock has disrupted the usual business of national statistics." Harvard University economist Alberto Cavallo has built an "alternative consumption basket" of spending by an average family in the US during the pandemic, showing "that consumer inflation in the US is higher than the official government estimate based on the country's traditional consumption basket". Usually, economic crises in emerging market (EM) economies are characterised by high inflation and current account deficit due to loose monetary and fiscal policies, but this time it is different, wrote Jehangir Aziz, so we need to "cut interest rates, increase liquidity support, and allow the fiscal deficit to widen". The Reserve Bank (RBI) has cut interest rate to its lowest level since 2000, to 4%, down from above 6% at the beginning of 2019. Though the government has earmarked Rs 3 trillion to recompense banks in case of defaults, banks are reluctant to lend, especially to small businesses. Instead, banks are happy to earn a meager 3.75% by keeping their money safe with the RBI. Aziz wants the RBI to cut interest rate more aggressively to forestall "the coming deflation" but a survey by the RBI showed that 85.3% of households expect inflation to accelerate in the next three months. Aziz suggests increased government spending. Because, "Just like in any other EM economy, what matters today is assurance of medium-term growth and not a few higher or lower points of GDP in this year's fiscal deficit." "India's economy has entered the coronavirus crisis with multiple wounds; and without tactical support of the government, growth would be tough to come," agreed Aparna Iyer. What would be the point of the government spending more to stimulate the economy if it takes the money back in higher taxes on fuel, which would reduce spending by increasing costs of goods and services? The government always seeks to milk as much tax as it can from citizens, to finance its promised subsidies, so it has no extra money for a stimulus. A conundrum.