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Data recap: Cold wave, covid peak, rise of bias
Summary
- The Omicron-led covid wave in India may have peaked in Mumbai, but is still going strong in other major cities
Every Friday, Plain Facts publishes a compilation of data-based insights, complete with easy-to-read visual charts, to help you delve deeper into the stories from the week just gone by. The Omicron-led covid wave in India may have peaked in Mumbai, but is still going strong in other major cities. A new YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial Survey has found authoritarian and anti-democratic tendencies among urban Indians. Here’s more:
Wait For The Peak
The third wave of covid-19 is now spreading relatively slower than earlier this month, and the infection curve seems to have already peaked in Mumbai. India reported 1.9 million new cases in the last seven days, a 57% jump over the previous week, compared with a 321% rise a week ago. The top 10 cities are still reporting a surge in cases, and account for a third of all new infections.
Lights, Camera, Inaction
With fresh curbs in many states to counter the third covid wave, the Indian film industry is hoping for rescue packages from the government. Producers and cinema owners told Mint they were looking at steps such as wage guarantees and subsidies, and protection measures such as covid insurance for crews. Revenues from the film industry had dropped 62% in 2020, a FICCI-EY report showed.
Gross Mis-fortune
That’s the fortune the world’s 10 richest individuals added between March 2020, when covid-19 was declared a pandemic, and November 2021, according to Forbes’ billionaires data. Their combined wealth rose from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion. Oxfam reported the numbers in its inequality report just ahead of the World Economic Forum.
Leading The Pack
India topped Mint’s monthly emerging markets tracker for the second straight month in December, due to robust exports and superior manufacturing activity. India was followed closely by Indonesia in the rankings. However, disruptions caused by the resurgence in covid-19 cases are clouding the economic outlook in countries, including India. The tracker covers 10 key emerging markets.
Praise My Party
The latest Yougov-Mint-CPR Millennial Survey suggests that urban Indians across party affiliations hold great appeal for authoritarian tendencies, possibly due to increasingly polarized attitudes in society. Around 41% of those identifying with a party supported it to the extent that they “always" referred to it as “my party", and 47% “always" felt good on hearing praise for the party.
Saving Costs
That’s how much Reliance Jio says it will save in interest costs every year after it prepaid ₹30,791 crore of deferred spectrum liabilities to the Department of Telecommunications. The prepayment clears the firm of all such dues incurred on buying spectrum before March last year. The liabilities were due in yearly instalments from 2022-23 to 2034-35.
Dealmaking Spree
Private equity and venture capital firms invested $77 billion in 1,266 deals in 2021, VCCircle reported, citing a report by the Indian Venture and Alternative Capital Association and consultancy firm EY. This was a 62% rise from 2020, which saw 923 PE-VC deals. Startups got about 37% of the total investments in 2021. The top deal of the year was a $3.6-billion fundraise by Flipkart.
Chart Of The Week: Fatal Chill
North India has been in the grip of a cold wave over the past few days. Eight years in the last two decades saw more deaths from cold waves than heat waves, official data shows. The biggest gap was in 2020. More cold days are ahead under the La Nina effect.
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