Covid 19
Coronavirus
The novel coronavirus has swiftly spread across the globe impacting 188 countries and territories, claiming millions of lives across the globe. The pandemic has led to disruption of life and a massive socio-economic meltdown. As estimated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and International Labour Organisation (ILO), developing countries are at the highest risk and would take a lot of time to recover from the impacts of this pandemic. As India’s coronavirus tally increases every day, there is a need to develop data driven interventions to minimise the impacts of coronavirus.
Coronavirus has driven the requirement for rapid adoption of digital technologies. There is an increasing demand for technological solutions for screening, testing and allocating resources for effective coronavirus response. Technological platforms could also help in keeping a track of development projects, status of beneficiaries under different welfare programs, and highlighting which areas require additional funding. Reliable and quality data would be critical for decision-making during and post pandemic across India.
Impact
Due to the lockdowns initiated since March 25th to curb the virus transmission, the Indian economy has faced an unprecedented halt.
While a Bloomberg survey has forecasted a 0.4% contraction in the economy in 2020-21, a UN report has projected growth to slow down by 1.2% this year.
It is estimated that 18,000 ongoing construction projects have been hit, employing 8.5 million workers.
This might be India’s worst-ever recession since Independence and could cost 135 million jobs, pushing 120 million people into poverty in the country.
Mizoram – the only state without an active covid-19 case
A McKinsey report also shows fall in consumer optimism about revival in markets.
As India’s formal sector workforce shifts to work from home as a self-quarantine measure, job searches for remote jobs have surged more than 377% from February to May. There are also rising concerns about productivity dips due to working from home amidst disturbances and distractions.
EY’s survey confirms that 72 % that the single-biggest concern for continued remote working is fall in productivity
The development sector is also set to be impacted.
A report by research consulting firm, FSG in their interviews with 18 CSR leaders and corporate CEOs reveals that they are directly supporting relief funds using their CSR funds, hence, reducing the support available for the impact sector and specifically NGOs by 30% to 60%.
The development sector is also set to be impacted.
A report by research consulting firm, FSG in their interviews with 18 CSR leaders and corporate CEOs reveals that they are directly supporting relief funds using their CSR funds, hence, reducing the support available for the impact sector and specifically NGOs by 30% to 60%.
These circumstances coupled with the imperative to physically distance is obstructing field research, studies and surveys for organisations and are forcing them to postpone their plans. This brings digital technology solutions at the forefront of data collection and analysis to take data-driven decisions even during a pandemic.
Importance of data & technology
Accurate and reliable data is central to making decisions during this public health emergency. Digital data solutions provide actionable insights into spread of the disease, population mobility and resilience of people which help to identify priority areas and vulnerable communities. Additionally, it would enable researchers to continue their work despite while maintaining the required physical distance.
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated key technological trends for supporting businesses and establishing a resilient system for reducing transmission risks.
Countries like the US and China are adopting contactless delivery services and introducing
Digital payments have become the norm for online purchases and utility payments.
To support work-from-home, virtual meeting and work collaboration tools like Zoom and Slack have been adopted.
Education has moved to online platforms like Google Classroom to enable distance learning. Remote technology through drones and robots are being deployed to disinfect areas.
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated key technological trends for supporting businesses and establishing a resilient system for reducing transmission risks.
The state government of Jharkhand has started an initiative to create ‘Co-Bots’, high tech robotic devices that can transfer medicines and food to covid-19
Start-ups including KlinicApp and Practo, are providing covid-19 tests at home and online consultation with doctors through their platform.
To ease the pressure on hospital staff, Asimov Robotics, a start-up based in Kerala, have developed robots which are being deployed in hospital isolation wards to carry food and medicines.
To assess the impact on coronavirus in India, multiple surveys are being conducted through remote technological tools such as Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), Interactive Voice Response (IVR) surveys, Short Message Service (SMS) surveys that use text messaging. These surveys are providing critical information about the impact of the pandemic and how it is affecting health and mental wellbeing, economic difficulties of people.
The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) household survey in its findings highlighted that incomes of almost 85% of households have been impacted because of the pandemic.
A survey conducted by Impact Policy Research Institute (IMPRI) along with University of Chicago highlighted that 60% of its respondents were stressed because of the pandemic.
Willis Towers Watson India covid-19 Readiness Pulse Survey indicated that almost 50% of respondents expect negative impact on their business and 83% plan to review their work-from-home policy.
Our work
With the pandemic disrupting projects across India, Well Being Research is working with its partners to ensure that the workers and beneficiaries at the grass root level are not alienated. We are coordinating with our partners to plan research and evaluations during and post coronavirus for delayed and new social programs, and identifying new socio-economic issues catalysed by coronavirus.
At present, we are preparing for assessments on
Migration patterns and impact on livelihoods with a focus on gender
Financial/physical/ mental well being
Cognizance surrounding availability of government subsidies
Our remote sensing assistance tool ‘Track your Metrics’ empowers you to make data driven decisions in these unprecedented times. It is an all-encompassing application that provides
Survey Formulation
Digital data collection
Data Visualisation
Report Generation
Whether you are an NGO looking for a free and easy tool to continue your operations amidst the lack of funds or a researcher who wants to continue his/her studies or an academic or an organisation trying to keep a track of your project, Track Your Metrics is the perfect tool for you. And it’s available for free