Q2 countdown: Pause over, India's consumption story moving fast again

Unlock, good monsoon, better pace of vaccination and rural demand could galvanise recovery

Sanjiv Mehta, chairman of the country’s largest consumer goods company, HUL, believes that the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic between April and June this year has been a mere pause in India’s consumption story, and that it will not change the country’s overall growth trajectory.

India is poised for growth, especially in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, Mehta told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday.  

The signs of recovery are becoming evident with many states lifting lockdown restrictions in recent weeks. While Covid-19 variants of concern and the possibility of a third wave remain, the