In numbers: One year of Covid

NEW DELHI: Never before the demand for sanitisers and immunity boosting foods like chyawanprash and honey shot up as much as it did when the Covid-19 began spreading in India last year. To break the chain of transmission, India imposed a stringent nationwide lockdown. Barring essential workers, the rest of the country was confined to their homes for weeks. Domestic air travel was halted and partially reopened two months later. Quarantine guidelines were set by states for travellers landing at airports. International flights were completely suspended.


As India marks one year of lockdown, here are a few numbers to understand how the Covid pandemic shaped the year ...


Domestic air travel dropped

71 lakh more PF accounts closed during April-December

Size of hand sanitiser market grew four-fold

Immunity boosting foods received a boost

Phone users' average screen time went up

Indians worked more

Demand for study table increased

Startups employed more people

Domestic violence complaints hit 10-yr-high

More people watched porn