PANDEMIC : THE IMPACT AND EXPERIENCE OF INVESTORS

The world was an entirely different place just a few months ago. A lot has changed since then and many of us are going through challenging times. Change is not something new and as Indians, we are good at adapting to change. However, the pace at which the change has been forced upon us is definitely new. While we are still trying to restart our lives and overcome our fears, perhaps we have already changed. Staying longer at home, many of us would have got ample amount of time to think about our lives and things that matter to us. Many of us have learned valuable lessons and have a new understanding of life. With few months passed, we shall now try to summarize the impact of the pandemic and look at our experience as investors.

The unprecedented crisis we are seeing today has impacted almost every industry. Some industries like hospitality, tourism, entertainment and airlines have been worst affected. On the positive side, the crisis has also benefited industries like IT services, pharmaceuticals, health and insurance. Every economy has suffered globally and India is no exception. However, while there is a prediction for lower growth this year, people are mostly expecting a sharp rebound next year and beyond. The government has been proactively taking a lot of bold and positive steps in many sectors. It has also announced a targeted economic stimulus package of Rs.20 lakh crores to help businesses survive and push economic recovery. The factories and businesses are also slowly restarting. We have to only wait to watch as the situation evolves.