Coronavirus continues to be topmost worry of urban Indians: Survey

Even as India is witnessing a decline in the number of new infections, coronavirus has emerged as the top concern among urban Indians and global citizens in the month of February, according to a monthly survey conducted research firm Ipsos.
Unemployment continues to remain one of the top worries among urban Indians, regering a two per cent increase in worry levels in comparison to January data, as per the survey titled ‘what worries the world’.

Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India, said: “Restrictions are easing, the common man is learning to live with the virus and job opportunities are also increasing. But let’s face it, the coronavirus has not gone away completely and so worry levels continue to stay. While elections are major events and it is important for commercial places to function, crowds should follow all safety measures to avoid infections from going up. Also, the job market needs to keep pace with the demand.”

While 33 per cent of global citizens pointed out that Covid-19 was their top worry, 31 per cent said it was poverty and social inequality, and 29 per cent voted for unemployment.
Among urban Indians, 43 per cent cited coronavirus as their topmost worry, while 40 per cent said unemployment and 28 per cent went with financial and political corruption.

“Our survey highlights the macro issues markets, of what perturbs the citizens to enable govts to prioritize them over others,” adds Adarkar.
On the other hand, the survey also asserts that India is the second most optimic market (75 per cent), after Saudi Arabia (84 per cent). The survey mentions that it is seeing a four per cent surge in optimism levels in February over the previous month.
“India is opening up and life is limping back to normalcy. This is increasing the positive outlook for the future,” states Adarkar.
The survey was conducted in 28 markets, among 19,022 netizens.