Dealing with ‘silent pandemic’ in the time of coronavirus

We consume data on a daily basis from multiple sources and in various formats. Often due to this excessive number crunching and overload of information, the most important messages from data are lost. Polstrat’s objectives include creating methodologies and processes that will help channel a solution-oriented approach and better decision-making. Through “Statistically Speaking” we hope to use political, social and economic data and analyses to judge the mood of the Indian Public.

In this week’s column, we talk about the impact Covid-19 has had on the mental health of people around the country. As billions of people around the world went under lockdown to combat the pandemic, the devastating impact this had on mental health became an important issue. Through a series of surveys carried out in June 2020 we break down the changes in overall mental health of Indians, main reasons for their increased stress, as well as the alarming rate of increase in reports of domestic violence. By highlighting these data points we want to bring awareness to the public domain about the condition of mental health in the country and the gendered impact of the pandemic on those most vulnerable.

Shiv Sehgal is the Director of Polstrat, an Indian political consultancy.