The second wave of COVID is not only a health crisis but also an economic one.
The first wave of the pandemic last year pushed so many individuals and families down the social hierarchy and the same is being repeated this year in the second wave.
Mind you, learning from the pandemic of 1918, the Spanish Flu, the pandemic may last for four years in India and attack in multiple waves.
This despondency is confirmed by 73.5 lakh Indians losing jobs in the month of April alone.
Also read: 'Had Govt done its job': Rahul Gandhi slams Centre over foreign aid amid pandemic
Further, the unemployment rate increased by 22% to 7.97% in April from 6.5% in March.
These data are released by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a private research company.
CMIE’s MD and CEO, Mahesh Vyas claims the lockdown-created halt in the economy has destroyed small businesses in rural areas of India.
He continues that recovery from the first wave was still in infancy when the second wave came and dashed all hopes at least in the near future for salaried people.
Also read: Punjab CM warns of third wave of COVID in Sep 2021
To mitigate and solve the situation, Vyas offers suggestions that the government must step in to resolve the problem of unemployment and the same must be done after understanding the reasons for the loss of jobs.
It is relevant to note that State of Working India report confirms what we all have been fearing – COVID has kicked 23 crore Indians down the socioeconomic ladder.