Smart Power India (SPI), a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Foundation, has released the results of their survey titled "SPI’s Survey of Mini-grid Villages May 2021" which shows that overall economic activity in such villages was less affected in 2021 due to the pandemic that largely impacted the healthcare and educational sector.

The survey was carried out to assess the impact of Covid-19, with a sample size of 200 respondents across 48 villages in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

It was learnt that while overall economic activity in mini-grid villages was less affected in 2021, the impact on education and healthcare infrastructure was much worse compared to 2020. SPI conducts these surveys periodically to stay abreast of evolving issues the rural Indian consumer is dealing with, in the light of the pandemic.

According to recent SPI surveys conducted in mini-grid villages, 61% of the participants responded that availability of essential services this year was better than the lockdown in 2020.

 Family income also showed improvement as compared to the first lockdown as 29% of the respondents expressed that 10 to 25% of their family income this year was impacted due to the lockdown due to better preparedness. Around 1.6% of the respondents faced no impact of the lockdown on their incomes.

This improvement in the family incomes in rural areas can be attributed to reliable access to electricity that has been consistent towards the rural communities amidst both the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. 67% of the respondents of the survey expressed satisfaction with the quality and availability of reliable electricity from mini-grids.

Though India’s economy reflected the signs of recovery after the first wave peaked in September 2020, this recovery wasn’t consistent. Income, employment and health were still key concerns for rural communities.