22nd April 2020, New Delhi: The COVID-19 cases in India are increasing rapidly and with it, the death toll is also going up. The Government recently procured 5 lakh rapid test kits from China and India is set to locally produce 20 lakh Covid-19 test kits per month from May onwards. With the 4 weeks of lockdown over and most businesses & offices still shut, Indians have been getting increasingly worried about their jobs & businesses and have been itching to get back to work.

LocalCircles conducted a 2-poll survey to check the mood of the consumer in the current scenario and expected changes in income in the next one year. The survey received around 17,000 votes from 150+ districts of India.

Many studies have reported a long-term mental health impact of the Coronavirus lockdown which has brought the entire world to its knees. The first question asked citizens what is making them feel stressed during this time of Coronavirus lockdown. 31% said job, business or finances, while 11% said procuring essential supplies for household. 26% said the negative news coming in from everywhere is giving the stress and 24% said the fear of getting infected is making them stressed.

COVID-19 Lockdown: Of those who are feeling, stressed, for 31% it is job, business or finance; for 26% its negative news; for 24% its fear of getting infected with virus

Results of the survey show that Indians have more things to worry about and the fear of getting infected is not the biggest reason for their stress. Running the house, having a job and maintaining their business turns out to be the major reasons for stress for Indians. For 11% people the biggest source of stress was procuring essential supplies.

COVID-19 Lockdown Impact: 87% citizens believe their income in FY20-21 will reduce in comparison to FY19-20

The second question asked how do they believe COVID-19 will impact their household income in the next 12 months. 26% said they believe it will reduce by 50% or more while 25% said it will reduce by 25-50%. 12% said it will reduce by up to 25% and 24% said it will definitely reduce but they are unsure by how much. Only 2% respondents believe their income will rise in the next 12 months while 11% said Coronavirus will have no impact on their income.

This means that 87% citizens believe their income in this financial year will reduce in comparison to the last 12 months. Even the developed countries are struggling with an excruciating rate of unemployment. According to the latest statistics, around 22 million Americans have sought for jobless benefits in just the past month.

COVID-19 Impact: In less than 45 days, percentage of citizens expecting household earnings reduction in FY20-21 rises from 28% to 87%

In the LocalCircles poll conducted in early March right when the first 10 Covid-19 cases were reported, only 28% citizens said that they expect their household earnings to reduce in the next 12 months. In less than 45 days, percentage of citizens expecting earnings reduction in financial year 20-21 has risen from 28% to 87%. Various other media reports show that many economies are tumbling into the worst recession in decades. In the next few quarters, the Government of India, in addition to fighting COVID-19 will have to deliver all possible economic stimulus including food and living expenses for those at the bottom of the pyramid, immediate assistance for small businesses and lower taxes and incentives for large corporates to get the economy back on track again.