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Majority of Indians are worried and anxious as the second wave of Covid-19 infections has crippled the country’s healthcare system.

According to a recent survey titled ‘what worries the world’ by a market research company Ipsos, at least 1 in 2 (48%) urban Indians believe the country is on the wrong track in terms of covid-19 cases and its management. Around 52% of urban Indians believe the country is moving in the right direction. There has been an 11% drop in optimism from April when 63% of urban Indians believed the country was moving in the right direction.

Two issues bothering urban Indians have seen a steep climb in May 2021 – Covid-19 (climbed up by 22% over April) and healthcare (has shot up by 11% over April 2021).

What worries urban Indians?

The survey finding suggests that the coronavirus is the topmost worry of at least 2 in 3 urban Indians, a 21% increase in worry levels over April. The second-ranked concern is unemployment with 44% of urban Indians worrying about it. Healthcare has moved up to emerge as India’s 3rd largest worry with 30% of urban Indians worrying about it, showing an increase of 13% over April.

Financial and political corruption was the 4th worry (24%), it has dropped by 11% over April in worry levels and Poverty and Social Inequality (21%) are the 5th biggest worries.

“Two issues that have significantly shot up in worry levels in May are Covid-19 and healthcare; the huge surge and crisis have put India on the backfoot; it has been nightmarish – the surge, our ability to deal with it and in saving lives – it has shaken the confidence of connected Indians, posing a challenge for immediate revival,” says Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India.

Global findings

Global citizens continue to be gloomy with 65% believing their country is on the wrong track.

The survey shows that Saudi Arabia (88%) and Australia (62%) believe their country is moving in the right direction and are the most optimistic markets.

While Colombia (91%), Peru (83%) and Argentina (81%) believe their country is on the wrong track and these markets are the highest in pessimism.

“We are seeing a major drop in optimism in May over April. The sudden surge in coronavirus infections put our health infrastructure in a tizzy and India was put in a crisis-like situation with a shortage of beds, oxygen, and drugs, leading to high mortality rates. It has shown our helplessness and staved off the confidence of most citizens in our ability to handle crises,” Adarkar said.

“Help from friendly countries and lockdowns have to some extent helped in diffusing the situation but the battle is far from over. It has been a tough period for the country. Health infrastructure up-gradation possibly in anticipation for a third wave and picking up the pace of vaccination are the obvious measures, but the drastic fall in optimism can only be arrested by some confidence-building measures. This degree of pessimism was not observed during the first wave and will only make it difficult for consumer sentiment and demand to improve,”  Adarkar added.