Lives and livelihoods in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in rural Bihar
This policy brief presents findings from a study on COVID-19’s economic impact in rural Bihar, India, based on phone interviews with over 1,600 households.
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Datt-et-al-Policy-Brief-April-2025.pdf
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- The COVID-19 pandemic was a health and economic crisis of unprecedented scale and magnitude. This study was conducted while the crisis was still ongoing in India.
- Based on phone interviews with more than 1600 households in rural Bihar, this study aims to provide rapid survey-based evidence to assess the pandemic's differentiated economic impact and the extent of government support received by the households.
- COVID-19 had a pervasive impact in rural Bihar – 94% of households experienced at least some impact on their livelihoods. The main source of livelihood was affected for nine out of every ten households. For 45% of households, all sources of livelihood were impacted.
- Casual and migrant labour were the most widely affected livelihood activities. Self-employment in agricultural and non-agricultural activities, and even work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), was affected. Regular government-salaried jobs remained protected, but few households had such jobs.
- There is a greater intensity of impact for Scheduled Castes – Scheduled Tribe households (SC-ST) and for low-income groups.
- Although the government provided various support measures, many households surveyed remained excluded from these provisions or received less than the announced amounts. This was particularly problematic as the support announced was low to begin with, relative to the economic impacts.