About 78% of people in NCR households have resumed working from their workplaces from the second and third week of June, according to a NCAER survey.

The findings of the Round 3 of its Delhi NCR Coronavirus Telephonic Survey (DCVTS-3) showed that a higher percentage of people in Delhi NCR had actually resumed activities than those who, in April, considered resuming them if the lockdown was lifted on May 3.

“This is indeed a good sign for getting the economy going again if the people are following precautionary measures to remain safe,” said Santanu Pramanik, Senior Fellow, NCAER.

The only exception is learning activities in educational institutions due to the continued closure of schools and colleges.

This may have serious consequences in terms of widening the gap in learning outcomes for children across socio-economic groups as the responsibility of educating children has shifted to households with a few exceptions where the learning process continues to function on a digital platform.

Income takes a hit

A total of 85% of the DCVTS -3 respondents reported pay cuts and reduction in wages in the month of May as compared to the average monthly income reported before the lockdown. There was no significant rural-urban difference in the proportion of households experiencing some level of income reduction. However, a significantly higher proportion of urban households (59 per cent) reported that their income had suffered “very much” compared to 50 per cent among rural households.

Households depending on income from casual wage work and small businesses had suffered the most. About 73 per cent of the 793 households who were dependent on casual wage work as their main source of income reported that their income fell by a large extent. This figure is similar to that of households (70 per cent) who drive income from owned business. Less than half (48 per cent) of the 1,220 households in which salaried workers were the main bread earners reported a large income loss.

Farmers (32 per cent of 632 households) were still the least affected along with the households reporting other primary sources of income such as rent, pension and remittances (26 per cent of 147).

Shekhar Shah, Director General, NCAER said that DCTVS-3 report arrives at the right time when India is reopening its economy even as infections surge.

Sonalde Desai, Professor, NCAER, said that there is a need to pay attention on cash transfers for urban informal workers during times of lockdown. There is also need to focus on variety of strategies for solving transportation issues, she added.

Pramanik stressed the need to continue reopening the economy. “Keeping the economy closed is not an option”, he added.

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