The present condition has posed a monetary threat to many. Reportedly, an income of 60% of India’s households has been affected for the worse due to the pandemic. Most people had pre-planned travel or purchases which got delayed due to the sudden unprepared lockdown that PM Modi was forced to implement on 25th March 2020.
According to a survey conducted by Neilson, 8 out of 10 households had pre-booked mid- and big-ticket plans like some purchase or travelling etc. during the lockdown period, that is between March and June. For the sake of economy, some lockdown restrictions were lifted. Even so, according to the survey, only 28% of them decided to follow through their previous plans. Others, either cancelled or postponed their plans. The market has also suffered a hit.
Consumer good and services sales have suffered a decline of 34% in April as compared to last year. International trades have suffered a blow too. Fuel industries have suffered a decline in production due to severely reduced demand as transportation have been stopped during the pandemic. Although, departmental stores, cash and carry have profited from the lockdown as people due to misconceptions have resorted to hoarding.
Along with basic food materials, people have been noticed to buy frozen, canned and packaged goods which have a long shelf life. A survey on the change in consumer behaviour has put forward a clear idea. Investments among every income groups have gone down by at least 3%.
Savings, on the other hand, have been noticed to have increased the most among high-income groups the most, about 1% within medium-income groups and negligible among low-income groups. Loans have reduced among low income and medium-income groups by 2% and 1% respectively. Higher-income have faced no impact. Monthly household expenses have been recorded to have increased in low and medium-income groups while the higher income groups have recorded no impact.
A devastating effect on the economy is from the pandemic and Reserve Bank of India has already predicted that the GDP of India for 2020-21 will probably stay in the negative zone because of the devastating effect of the pandemic. India currently has over 1,32,000
confirmed cases with 54,441 recovered cases. Corona has claimed 3,867 lives in India and the disease is very rapidly spreading all across. The entire country is still under a lot of problems with stranded migrant workers, sinking economy and natural disasters and all we can hope now is quick recovery from the dire situation we are in.
