NEW DELHI : ITC Ltd has flagged “heightened uncertainty" around the timing and shape of India’s economic recovery trajectory following the second wave of covid-19 infections. Urban recovery could be muted compared with the first wave, and the spread of infection to villages may impact rural demand, said the hotels-to-cigarettes conglomerate. It expects rural demand, robust in FY21, to be impacted because of the virus spreading to rural areas on a relatively larger scale than the first wave. ITC said the progressive easing of restrictions and improvement of mobility led to a pick-up in economic activity in the second half of FY21. Meanwhile, the “ferocity" of the second wave since February has adversely impacted the country’s projected economic prospects for FY22, it said.

Source: Mint July 14, 2021 18:33 UTC