Second wave in state leaves economic activity unscathed

Visakhapatnam: The record jump in Covid-19 cases during the peak of the second wave pushed the health infrastructure of Andhra Pradesh to the brink. But its impact seems to have been moderate on economic activity, compared to the first wave, if the high frequency indicators like electricity consumption, mobility, economic value of agriculture markets, etc. are anything to go by.
For instance, electricity consumption had nosedived to 1,725 GWh (gigawatt hours) in June 2020 in Andhra Pradesh.It peaked to 5,676 GWh by May 2021, as per an analysis done based on data from the power system operation corporation limited by ‘India Data Portal’, an open data-driven initiative of the Bharati Institute of Public Policy of the Indian School of Business (ISB).
The economic value of the items traded in the agricultural markets of the state had plummeted to Rs 48 crore in April 2020. This increased to Rs 869 crore by March 2021.
The number of new companies registered in Andhra Pradesh in the first three months of the onset of the pandemic (March, April and May 2020) had not crossed the 200-mark. The registrations during the second wave, which is considered to have begun in the second half March 2021 in Andhra Pradesh, has not come down the 300-mark in any month in the last six months – from March 2021 to September 2021.
Similarly, community mobility dropped by 58% in April 2020 compared to 34% gap in May 20201 (the peak month of the second wave). India Data Portal prepared a baseline mobility data by calculating the median value from the five-week period – between January 3 and February 6, 2020.
When it comes to percentage of change in community mobility pertaining to grocery and pharmacy visits, Andhra Pradesh witnessed a 45% drop compared to the median value. By March 2021, it was about 33% above the median value.
The number of digital payment transactions in India had taken a serious plunge to 227.57 crore in June 2020. Digital transactions showed resilience during the second wave to quickly cross the 402 crore mark in June 2021.
The Covid-19 second wave caused havoc in Andhra Pradesh in April-May 2021. The state reported 5.9 lakh cases in May alone, with hospitals choking with patients. This can be better understood from the fact that the state recorded only some nine lakh cases in the first wave (from March 2020 to February 2021).
The scenes of relatives making rounds around the hospitals for an oxygen bed or the patients themselves waiting outside the hospitals on oxygen support had become common occurrences in May-June 2021.