Moneycontrol Pro Panorama | Can India take its vaccination gains to new heights?

A medical personnel administers a dose of the Covishield COVID-19 vaccine to an exile Tibetan inside a converted classroom of a Tibetan school in Dharmsala. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

Dear Reader,

The Panorama newsletter is sent to Moneycontrol Pro subscribers on market days. It offers easy access to stories published on Moneycontrol Pro and gives a little extra by setting out a context or an event or trend that investors should keep track of.

After early gains, our economic recovery tracker is sending mixed signals. While mobility numbers are improving and auto sales at the retail level continue to increase, consumer sentiment is still cold and unemployment high. Rural India, in particular, still seems to be suffering from the effect of the second wave of COVID-19 infections.

The big risk to the economic recovery now is the possibility of a third wave of the pandemic. And there seems to be no consensus on this wave and its effect. Some such as AIIMS chief Randeep Guleria feel that a third wave is inevitable; an IIT Kanpur study expects it to peak in September-October.

On the other hand, there are some experts who believe that a new mutation of the virus has to occur to start a third wave. Famous virologist noted investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala also told CNBCTV18: “I for sure will bet my money that there is going to be no third wave.”

Big Bull’s logic was that the increasing pace of vaccination would help India approach herd immunity. The facts seem to support him. The vaccination drive is gathering pace. India administered a record 8.6 million doses yesterday.

Will that be sustained? At 12:50 pm, the Co-Win site says only 1.4 million doses have been administered today. We need to wait for the official update. In an interview with Moneycontrol, RS Sharma, the CEO of the National Health Authority and the Co-Win platform, said the government is on track on to achieve universal vaccination by the end of this year.

In any case, fund managers have moved on beyond COVID-19 and consider inflation to be the biggest tail risk for markets. But they are still bullish and many consider the current inflationary scenario in the US to be transitory. Bob Prince, the joint investment chief of the world's biggest hedge fund, said as much in an interview to FT. (free to read for MC Pro subscribers here).

Do check out these investing insights from our research team:

Transport Corporation of India: Value play in an overheated market

Can crude oil hit $100 a barrel anytime soon?

Zensar – A turnaround road map in place

Indiamart Intermesh: Market size offers the growth canvas

What else are we reading today?

Are commodity prices heading for a meltdown?

SEBI's interference in the PNB Housing-Carlyle deal offers a good opportunity to invest

Chart of the Day | Housing price growth decelerates in first year of pandemic

India's premier power utilities need a bit of love from investors

Yarn mills set to spin a robust tale, but surging cotton prices could play spoilsport

The pandemic is accelerating the digital transformation of business

Technical picks : Mayur Unicoaters, Reliance, Coforge and Bharat Electronics (These are published every trading day before markets open and can be read on the app)

Ravi Krishnan

Moneycontrol Pro