Signs of economic recovery

Consumer sentiment has been, by far, the most sluggish economic indicator in the post-lockdown recovery story so far

Consumer sentiments have been rising in February 2022. During each of the three weeks that ended in the month, the Index of Consumer Sentiments (ICS) was higher than it was in any week since the last week of March 2020 when India first came under a severe lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic. With this record, February 2022 is heading towards registering the highest ICS since the lockdown.

This is hugely important because it implies the continuation of a trend of rising consumer sentiments that began in July 2021. A nearly sustained growth in the ICS over eight months implies