Once recently viewed hopefully as a tool the West could use to balance out China’s rising supremacy, India has lost its status as a potential player on the global stage in the eyes of the West, due to its failure to effectively combat the second wave of coronavirus and the new US administration’s consequential apparent wish to adjust their China policy (1).
The second wave, which spawned the Delta variant, hit a massive blow on India’s economy following the contraction that had already occurred during the first outbreak (2). With rising unemployment rates and pay cuts (3) prompting its citizens to pledge their gold savings against loans in order to meet their day-to-day financial needs (4), the government announced billions of dollars of stimulus would be injected into the system (5).
India’s massive population and low vaccine rate hamper a full reopening (6), coupled with elevated tensions along its Chinese border (7), indicates India has some rough days ahead.
The differences between mainstream media hype-reporting and the underlying fundamentals of an economy is starkly contrasted. The focus on ever-mutating corona variants belies the reality of reducing unemployment, stable profit margins, and strong GDP growth. Risk indicators show the economic reality is not as dire as the media would lead one to believe, supporting a confident outlook for investors.
References
India Is The World’s Biggest Vaccine Maker. Yet Only 4% Of Indians Are Vaccinated
India Sends 50,000 More Troops To Disputed Chinese Border In Major Escalation