Early signs of recovery in rural India

Betw­een March and May, consumer sentiments in rural India fell more than twice as much as in urban India

In May 2021, the index of consumer sentiments fell by a massive 10.8 per cent compared to its level in the previous month, April. This was after the 3.8 per cent fall it had registered in April. The cumulative fall in the index over the past two months, therefore, was a substantial 14.1 per cent. These are the months wh­en the second wave of Covid-19 infections was at its worst. Evide­n­tly, the harrowing experience of households across Ind­ia during these months had a telling imp­act on consumer sentiments.

The index of consumer sentiments has two broad components — the index