Over the last 12 months, the world has been in a battle with a common enemy: Covid-19. This virus may have originated in Wuhan, China, but it spread across the globe like wildfire claiming lives, crippling economies, and changing the world forever as we know it. India, like every other country, has taken a financial hit that no one could have anticipated. Businesses have been forced to downsize, shut down, or request aid from the government. Families from across the nation can no longer survive on government palliatives and over 145,000 people have died because of the virus.
The Impact of Covid-19 on the Indian Economy
During the first 21 days of the lockdown in India, the overall economy lost approximately $4.5 billion daily. As the restrictions were eased and companies moved to remote work, the daily financial loss declined significantly. The most obvious drop in India’s GDP (24 percent) was recorded in April and June. In the current and last quarter, things have improved but there was still a 3.1 percent drop in the economic growth rate in India. This isn’t a surprise since the country has spent $420 billion on economic stimulus from the first lockdown to October 21.
The Indian economy was struggling long before the Covid-19 pandemic started. While a lot of progress has been made in the last decade, the gap between the rich and the poor is still too wide. Now, the pandemic threatens to worsen the already gloomy economic outlook of the country. Almost every sector has been affected negatively by the pandemic. For a clearer picture, you should consider how each sector has suffered because of the coronavirus pandemic.
1. Covid-19 and the Indian Healthcare Insurance Sector
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the health insurance sector has experienced a significant surge in demand. As the demand for health insurance increases, the underwriting threshold across providers has increased. While the health insurance sector in India has always faced challenges, Ayushman Bharat helped people of all works of life to get insured. Keep in mind that the rise in the demand for health insurance doesn’t automatically favor the industry long term. Short term, there is already a problem of resources. Treating the virus has cost the country its medical resources.
2. Covid-19 and the Indian Education Industry
The education industry in India has also taken a major hit in the last 12 months. Students have been forced to stay at home to curb the spread of the virus. It has allowed online learning to surge in popularity. This is all thanks to the work of web developers, software developers, web designers, and other computer-related careers. Many EdTech companies in the country are partnering with other institutions to provide students with the training they need to use digital curriculums. Right now, over 580 million Indians have access to the Internet. This seems like a high number but it is nothing compared to the total population of 4.66 billion. A lot of people are learning computer skills because they are currently in demand.
3. Covid-19 and the Tech Sector
The tech sector has played a key role in stimulating the Indian economy in the coronavirus era. Schools depend on tech tools to promote e-learning; companies depend on it for remote work and people rely on it for social interactions. While the reliance on technology has helped tech workers keep their jobs, there are still some challenges. For starters, the IT infrastructure in India wasn’t developed enough to handle the surge in demand. They’ve had to make several adjustments within a short time. There is also the problem of cybersecurity. This isn’t surprising due to the rush to update computer-based infrastructures.
4. Covid-19 and Indian Businesses
Things have been rather difficult for small and medium scale businesses in India. While the corporations had money put aside to survive the lockdown, many small businesses had to stop providing their products and services because of capital inadequacy. People who were working on starting their businesses had to put their projects on hold until things stabilized. Some couldn’t find insurance companies that would insure them because of the pandemic while others couldn’t kick-start their businesses due to Covid restrictions.
Conclusion
India isn’t the only country that has suffered because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, it is one of the countries with the highest infection and death rates. There have been more than 10 million confirmed cases with limited healthcare and infrastructure to handle the crisis. It’s difficult to determine how long it will take for the economic outlook to improve but it’s not going to happen overnight.