The second wave had a profound impact on rural India, says a new SBI report

The second wave of COVID-19 had a profound impact on rural India, says a new SBI report. The SBI Ecowrap report was released on June 1 which analysed the impact of the COVID-19 second wave in the country. The study divided the districts of each states into 4 tiers depending upon their urban population.Tier 1 Centre = Greater than 75%, Tier 2 centre = Between 51- 75%, Tier 3 Centre = Between 26- 50% and Tier 4 Centre = Less than 25%. The new study shows, Tier 3 and Tier 4 have witnessed a greater increase in deaths during the second wave of COVID19, the study shows compared to the first wave. Furthermore, more rural districts have a cumulative fatality rate higher than the country’s overall fatality rate during the second wave. The rural economy has also been affected during the second wave, says the report. Diesel consumption, Two-wheeler and tractor sales, fertiliser sales, MGNERGA employment all declined in April 2021. However, the decline has been less severe when compared to that in April 2020 and this indicates that GDP loss in the second wave would be much less than that in the first wave. The SBI report also says that the third wave in India could be as intense as the second wave. As per the report, vaccination should be the key priority for India, especially for children in the 12-18 years age bracket. The government is targeting up to 1 crore vaccinations per day by mid-July or early August.