V-shaped recovery
But one thing we may still need to worry about is a K-shaped fallout of the pandemic: a big divergence in the well-being of the rich and poor. This would mean faster economic growth is even more important now.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, has said that group businesses are seeing a sharp recovery and that India will be among the world’s economies to rise above pre-pandemic levels as covid vaccines and stimulus plans are rolled out. “Economists were throwing many letters at us—V, W, X—all sorts of things to describe the possible economic recovery. For us, it has pretty much been a V," he told Bloomberg Television. “It’s been a very sharp recovery," he added, “a very huge surprise for all of us."
Birla’s upbeat comments should help lay to rest the doubts that persist over the economy’s revival from its 2020 depths. Government data pointed to a clean rebound since, though observers have served us an alphabet soup on its shape. Our risk of a double-dip or W-shaped recession has receded, now that vaccination has begun, high covid-antibody levels have been detected in many urban spaces, and a second infection wave is unlikely. But one thing we may still need to worry about is a K-shaped fallout of the pandemic: a big divergence in the well-being of the rich and poor. This would mean faster economic growth is even more important now.
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