India reported almost 45 million cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as of October 20, 2023, with more than 44 million recoveries and about 532 thousand fatalities. The number of cases in the country had a decreasing trend in the past months.

Burden on the healthcare system

With the world's second largest population in addition to an even worse second wave of the coronavirus pandemic seems to be crushing an already inadequate healthcare system. Despite vast numbers being vaccinated, a new variant seemed to be affecting younger age groups this time around. The lack of ICU beds, black market sales of oxygen cylinders and drugs needed to treat COVID-19, as well as overworked crematoriums resorting to mass burials added to the woes of the country. Foreign aid was promised from various countries including the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Additionally, funding from the central government was expected to boost vaccine production.

Situation overview
Even though days in April 2021 saw record-breaking numbers compared to any other country worldwide, a nation-wide lockdown has not been implemented. The largest religious gathering - the Kumbh Mela, sacred to the Hindus, along with election rallies in certain states continue to be held. Some states and union territories including Maharashtra, Delhi, and Karnataka had issued curfews and lockdowns to try to curb the spread of infections.

India reported over 44 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as of October 20, 2023. The number of people infected with the virus was declining across the south Asian country.

What is the coronavirus?

COVID-19 is part of a large family of coronaviruses (CoV) that are transmitted from animals to people. The name COVID-19 is derived from the words corona, virus, and disease, while the number 19 represents the year that it emerged. Symptoms of COVID-19 resemble that of the common cold, with fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. However, serious infections can lead to pneumonia, multi-organ failure, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and even death, if appropriate medical help is not provided.

COVID-19 in India

India reported its first case of this coronavirus in late January 2020 in the southern state of Kerala. That led to a nation-wide lockdown between March and June that year to curb numbers from rising. After marginal success, the economy opened up leading to some recovery for the rest of 2020. In March 2021, however, the second wave hit the country causing record-breaking numbers of infections and deaths, crushing the healthcare system. The central government has been criticized for not taking action this time around, with "#ResignModi" trending on social media platforms in late April. The government's response was to block this line of content on the basis of fighting misinformation and reducing panic across the country.

Maharashtra confirmed over 8.1 million cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as of October 20, 2023, with over 148 thousand fatalities and over eight million recoveries. A state-wide lockdown was implemented in late April 2021 to attempt reducing infections and deaths.

Context

This is a Covid 19 data set for India. The data set is updated frequently and is analysed using tableau. Click on the link to visit the tableau story. Click each of the caption in the story to unveil its content.

https://public.tableau.com/profile/ambili.nair#!/vizhome/COVID19Indiastory/Indiastory?publish=yes

The first Covid 19 case in India was reported on 30th January 2020 in South Indian state of Kerala on a medical student who was pursuing the studies at Wuhan University, China. Two more students were found to be infected in Kerala in the consecutive days. The Kerala government was successful in containing the disease with its proactive measures back then. The second outbreak of Covid 19 in India started in the first week of March from various parts of India in various people who visited the foreign countries and in some of the tourists from different countries.

The tableau story consists of the following data analysis : 1. State-wise number of infected and number of death count in India map. Hover the mouse on each state in the India map to know the count. 2. Click on the next caption to know the state-wise number of confirmed, active, recovered and deceased cases in the form of bar chart. 3. The next caption takes you to the bar chart which shows the number of cases getting confirmed in India each day starting from January 30, 2020. 4. Next caption takes us to an analysis of the Mortality rate and the Recovery rate (in percentage) of each of the Indian state. We get an idea how hard each of the state is hit by the pandemic. 5. Next caption gives a detailed analysis of the state Kerala which has the mortality rate of 0.806% and the recovery rate of 74.4% as of now. Hover the mouse to know the count in each district. Don't forget to have a look at the line graph of 'number of active cases' in Kerala. It looks almost flattened ! As everyday we hear the increasing number of cases and deaths across the country, this graph may make you feel better...! 6. Finally the caption takes you to the statistics from the topmost district of Kerala - Kasaragod. The total number of cases reported is 179 at Kasaragod. The active number of cases is just 12 as of now... !!! Have a look at the statistics from Kasaragod and the story of 'Kasaragod model' as some of the national media in India call it !!!

Content

This data set consists of the following data: 1. state-wise statistics - Confirmed, Active, Recovered, Deceased cases 2. day-wise count of infected and deceased from various states 3. Statistics from Kerala - day-wise count of confirmed, Active, Recovered, Deceased cases 4. Statistics from Kasaragod district, Kerala - day-wise count of confirmed, Active, Recovered, Deceased cases 5. Count of confirmed cases from various districts of India

Acknowledgements

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare - India covid19india.org Wikipedia page - Covid 19 Pandemic India Govt. of Kerala dashboard - official Kerala Covid 19 statistics

Inspiration

Inspiration

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Delhi confirmed almost two million cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as of October 20, 2023, with over 26 thousand fatalities and over two million recoveries. The Delhi government, led by Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party implemented a night and weekend curfew to curb infection numbers in late April 2021. The capital region faced acute shortage of oxygen and ICU beds during this time period.

This dataset provides values for CORONAVIRUS DEATHS reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

On March 10, 2023, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center ceased its collecting and reporting of global COVID-19 data. For updated cases, deaths, and vaccine data please visit the following sources: World Health Organization (WHO)For more information, visit the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.-- Esri COVID-19 Trend Report for 3-9-2023 --0 Countries have Emergent trend with more than 10 days of cases: (name : # of active cases) 41 Countries have Spreading trend with over 21 days in new cases curve tail: (name : # of active cases)Monaco : 13, Andorra : 25, Marshall Islands : 52, Kyrgyzstan : 79, Cuba : 82, Saint Lucia : 127, Cote d'Ivoire : 148, Albania : 155, Bosnia and Herzegovina : 172, Iceland : 196, Mali : 198, Suriname : 246, Botswana : 247, Barbados : 274, Dominican Republic : 304, Malta : 306, Venezuela : 334, Micronesia : 346, Uzbekistan : 356, Afghanistan : 371, Jamaica : 390, Latvia : 402, Mozambique : 406, Kosovo : 412, Azerbaijan : 427, Tunisia : 528, Armenia : 594, Kuwait : 716, Thailand : 746, Norway : 768, Croatia : 847, Honduras : 1002, Zimbabwe : 1067, Saudi Arabia : 1098, Bulgaria : 1148, Zambia : 1166, Panama : 1300, Uruguay : 1483, Kazakhstan : 1671, Paraguay : 2080, Ecuador : 53320 Countries may have Spreading trend with under 21 days in new cases curve tail: (name : # of active cases)61 Countries have Epidemic trend with over 21 days in new cases curve tail: (name : # of active cases)Liechtenstein : 48, San Marino : 111, Mauritius : 742, Estonia : 761, Trinidad and Tobago : 1296, Montenegro : 1486, Luxembourg : 1540, Qatar : 1541, Philippines : 1915, Ireland : 1946, Brunei : 2010, United Arab Emirates : 2013, Denmark : 2111, Sweden : 2149, Finland : 2154, Hungary : 2169, Lebanon : 2208, Bolivia : 2838, Colombia : 3250, Switzerland : 3321, Peru : 3328, Slovakia : 3556, Malaysia : 3608, Indonesia : 3793, Portugal : 4049, Cyprus : 4279, Argentina : 5050, Iran : 5135, Lithuania : 5323, Guatemala : 5516, Slovenia : 5689, South Africa : 6604, Georgia : 7938, Moldova : 8082, Israel : 8746, Bahrain : 8932, Netherlands : 9710, Romania : 12375, Costa Rica : 12625, Singapore : 13816, Serbia : 14093, Czechia : 14897, Spain : 17399, Ukraine : 19568, Canada : 24913, New Zealand : 25136, Belgium : 30599, Poland : 38894, Chile : 41055, Australia : 50192, Mexico : 65453, United Kingdom : 65697, France : 68318, Italy : 70391, Austria : 90483, Brazil : 134279, Korea - South : 209145, Russia : 214935, Germany : 257248, Japan : 361884, US : 6440500 Countries may have Epidemic trend with under 21 days in new cases curve tail: (name : # of active cases) 54 Countries have Controlled trend: (name : # of active cases)Palau : 3, Saint Kitts and Nevis : 4, Guinea-Bissau : 7, Cabo Verde : 8, Mongolia : 8, Benin : 9, Maldives : 10, Comoros : 10, Gambia : 12, Bhutan : 14, Cambodia : 14, Syria : 14, Seychelles : 15, Senegal : 16, Libya : 16, Laos : 17, Sri Lanka : 19, Congo (Brazzaville) : 19, Tonga : 21, Liberia : 24, Chad : 25, Fiji : 26, Nepal : 27, Togo : 30, Nicaragua : 32, Madagascar : 37, Sudan : 38, Papua New Guinea : 38, Belize : 59, Egypt : 60, Algeria : 64, Burma : 65, Ghana : 72, Haiti : 74, Eswatini : 75, Guyana : 79, Rwanda : 83, Uganda : 88, Kenya : 92, Burundi : 94, Angola : 98, Congo (Kinshasa) : 125, Morocco : 125, Bangladesh : 127, Tanzania : 128, Nigeria : 135, Malawi : 148, Ethiopia : 248, Vietnam : 269, Namibia : 422, Cameroon : 462, Pakistan : 660, India : 4290 41 Countries have End Stage trend: (name : # of active cases)Sao Tome and Principe : 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines : 2, Somalia : 2, Timor-Leste : 2, Kiribati : 8, Mauritania : 12, Oman : 14, Equatorial Guinea : 20, Guinea : 28, Burkina Faso : 32, North Macedonia : 351, Nauru : 479, Samoa : 554, China : 2897, Taiwan* : 249634 -- SPIKING OF NEW CASE COUNTS --20 countries are currently experiencing spikes in new confirmed cases:Armenia, Barbados, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Costa Rica, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Portugal, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan 20 countries experienced a spike in new confirmed cases 3 to 5 days ago: Argentina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Korea - South, Lithuania, Mozambique, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates 47 countries experienced a spike in new confirmed cases 5 to 14 days ago: Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Congo (Kinshasa), Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malta, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Thailand, Tunisia, US, Uruguay, Zambia, Zimbabwe 194 countries experienced a spike in new confirmed cases over 14 days ago: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea - South, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan*, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, US, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe Strongest spike in past two days was in US at 64,861 new cases.Strongest spike in past five days was in US at 64,861 new cases.Strongest spike in outbreak was 424 days ago in US at 1,354,505 new cases. Global Total Confirmed COVID-19 Case Rate of 8620.91 per 100,000Global Active Confirmed COVID-19 Case Rate of 37.24 per 100,000Global COVID-19 Mortality Rate of 87.69 per 100,000 21 countries with over 200 per 100,000 active cases.5 countries with over 500 per 100,000 active cases.3 countries with over 1,000 per 100,000 active cases.1 country with over 2,000 per 100,000 active cases.Nauru is worst at 4,354.54 per 100,000.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China, saw infection cases spread throughout the Asia-Pacific region. By April 13, 2024, India had faced over 45 million coronavirus cases. South Korea followed behind India as having had the second highest number of coronavirus cases in the Asia-Pacific region, with about 34.6 million cases. At the same time, Japan had almost 34 million cases. At the beginning of the outbreak, people in South Korea had been optimistic and predicted that the number of cases would start to stabilize. What is SARS CoV 2?Novel coronavirus, officially known as SARS CoV 2, is a disease which causes respiratory problems which can lead to difficulty breathing and pneumonia. The illness is similar to that of SARS which spread throughout China in 2003. After the outbreak of the coronavirus, various businesses and shops closed to prevent further spread of the disease. Impacts from flight cancellations and travel plans were felt across the Asia-Pacific region. Many people expressed feelings of anxiety as to how the virus would progress. Impact throughout Asia-PacificThe Coronavirus and its variants have affected the Asia-Pacific region in various ways. Out of all Asia-Pacific countries, India was highly affected by the pandemic and experienced more than 50 thousand deaths. However, the country also saw the highest number of recoveries within the APAC region, followed by South Korea and Japan.

Insights on Covid spread trend in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India by a projection based on data from the past 30 days.

Based on a comparison of coronavirus deaths in 210 countries relative to their population, Peru had the most losses to COVID-19 up until July 13, 2022. As of the same date, the virus had infected over 557.8 million people worldwide, and the number of deaths had totaled more than 6.3 million. Note, however, that COVID-19 test rates can vary per country. Additionally, big differences show up between countries when combining the number of deaths against confirmed COVID-19 cases. The source seemingly does not differentiate between "the Wuhan strain" (2019-nCOV) of COVID-19, "the Kent mutation" (B.1.1.7) that appeared in the UK in late 2020, the 2021 Delta variant (B.1.617.2) from India or the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) from South Africa.

The difficulties of death figures

This table aims to provide a complete picture on the topic, but it very much relies on data that has become more difficult to compare. As the coronavirus pandemic developed across the world, countries already used different methods to count fatalities, and they sometimes changed them during the course of the pandemic. On April 16, for example, the Chinese city of Wuhan added a 50 percent increase in their death figures to account for community deaths. These deaths occurred outside of hospitals and went unaccounted for so far. The state of New York did something similar two days before, revising their figures with 3,700 new deaths as they started to include “assumed” coronavirus victims. The United Kingdom started counting deaths in care homes and private households on April 29, adjusting their number with about 5,000 new deaths (which were corrected lowered again by the same amount on August 18). This makes an already difficult comparison even more difficult. Belgium, for example, counts suspected coronavirus deaths in their figures, whereas other countries have not done that (yet). This means two things. First, it could have a big impact on both current as well as future figures. On April 16 already, UK health experts stated that if their numbers were corrected for community deaths like in Wuhan, the UK number would change from 205 to “above 300”. This is exactly what happened two weeks later. Second, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which countries already have “revised” numbers (like Belgium, Wuhan or New York) and which ones do not. One work-around could be to look at (freely accessible) timelines that track the reported daily increase of deaths in certain countries. Several of these are available on our platform, such as for Belgium, Italy and Sweden. A sudden large increase might be an indicator that the domestic sources changed their methodology.

Where are these numbers coming from?

The numbers shown here were collected by Johns Hopkins University, a source that manually checks the data with domestic health authorities. For the majority of countries, this is from national authorities. In some cases, like China, the United States, Canada or Australia, city reports or other various state authorities were consulted. In this statistic, these separately reported numbers were put together. For more information or other freely accessible content, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

As global communities responded to COVID-19, we heard from public health officials that the same type of aggregated, anonymized insights we use in products such as Google Maps would be helpful as they made critical decisions to combat COVID-19. These Community Mobility Reports aimed to provide insights into what changed in response to policies aimed at combating COVID-19. The reports charted movement trends over time by geography, across different categories of places such as retail and recreation, groceries and pharmacies, parks, transit stations, workplaces, and residential.

A majority of the coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in India affected people between ages 31 and 40 years as of October 18, 2021. Of these, the highest share of deaths during the measured time period was observed in people under the age of 50 years.

IntroductionLarge-scale sero-prevalence studies with representation from all age groups are required to estimate the true burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the community. Serial serological surveys in fixed cohorts enable study of dynamics of viral transmission and correlates of immune response over time in the context of gradual introduction of COVID-19 vaccines and repeated upsurge of cases during the pandemic.MethodsThis longitudinal study will involve follow-up of a cohort of 25,000 individuals (5,000 per site) aged 2 years and above recruited from five existing demographic surveillance sites in India. The cohort will be tested for the presence of IgG antibodies against S1/S2 spike protein subunits of SARS-CoV-2 in four rounds; once at baseline and subsequently, at intervals of 4 months for a year between January 2021 and January 2022. Neutralization assays will be carried out in a subset of seropositive samples in each round to quantify the antibody response and to estimate the durability of antibody response. Serial serological surveys will be complemented by fortnightly phone based syndromic surveillance to assess the burden of symptomatic acute febrile illness/ influenza like illness in the same cohort. A bio-repository will also be established to store the serum samples collected in all rounds of serological surveys.DiscussionThe population based sero-epidemiological studies will help to determine the burden of COVID-19 at the community level in urban and rural Indian populations and guide in monitoring the trends in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Risk factors for infection will be identified to inform future control strategies. The serial serological surveys in the same set of participants will help determine the viral transmission dynamics and durability of neutralizing immune response in participants with or without symptomatic COVID infection.

Context

India is in the state of the nationwide lockdown to combat the prevalent monotonically rising COVID-19 cases. We all know that every country is being affected by the outbreak of COVID-19. This dataset was created to understand study pollution in major places of India during this period (1 March - 20 April).

Content

OpenAQ is the world's first open, real-time and historical air quality platform, aggregating government-measured and research-grade data - entirely open-source. OpenAQ API was used for the purpose of extracting the pollution data. It provides an API to extract concentration of pollutants (CO, NO2, SO2, O3, PM10 & PM2.5) in 119 places in India. We extracted the pollution data for the interval of (1 March - 20 April 2020) of major cities that are considered.

About the dataset

• All files starting with "all_" contains data related concentration of pollutants (CO, NO2, SO2, O3) and PM10 values in the corresponding city.
• "India-Full.csv" contains PM2.5 values in all the major places of India from 1 March to 20 April 2020.

IntroductionLarge-scale sero-prevalence studies with representation from all age groups are required to estimate the true burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the community. Serial serological surveys in fixed cohorts enable study of dynamics of viral transmission and correlates of immune response over time in the context of gradual introduction of COVID-19 vaccines and repeated upsurge of cases during the pandemic.MethodsThis longitudinal study will involve follow-up of a cohort of 25,000 individuals (5,000 per site) aged 2 years and above recruited from five existing demographic surveillance sites in India. The cohort will be tested for the presence of IgG antibodies against S1/S2 spike protein subunits of SARS-CoV-2 in four rounds; once at baseline and subsequently, at intervals of 4 months for a year between January 2021 and January 2022. Neutralization assays will be carried out in a subset of seropositive samples in each round to quantify the antibody response and to estimate the durability of antibody response. Serial serological surveys will be complemented by fortnightly phone based syndromic surveillance to assess the burden of symptomatic acute febrile illness/ influenza like illness in the same cohort. A bio-repository will also be established to store the serum samples collected in all rounds of serological surveys.DiscussionThe population based sero-epidemiological studies will help to determine the burden of COVID-19 at the community level in urban and rural Indian populations and guide in monitoring the trends in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Risk factors for infection will be identified to inform future control strategies. The serial serological surveys in the same set of participants will help determine the viral transmission dynamics and durability of neutralizing immune response in participants with or without symptomatic COVID infection.

As of May 2, 2023, the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had been confirmed in almost every country in the world. The virus had infected over 687 million people worldwide, and the number of deaths had reached almost 6.87 million. The most severely affected countries include the U.S., India, and Brazil.

COVID-19: background information COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that had not previously been identified in humans. The first case was detected in the Hubei province of China at the end of December 2019. The virus is highly transmissible and coughing and sneezing are the most common forms of transmission, which is similar to the outbreak of the SARS coronavirus that began in 2002 and was thought to have spread via cough and sneeze droplets expelled into the air by infected persons.

Naming the coronavirus disease Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can be transmitted between animals and people, causing illnesses that may range from the common cold to more severe respiratory syndromes. In February 2020, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses and the World Health Organization announced official names for both the virus and the disease it causes: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, respectively. The name of the disease is derived from the words corona, virus, and disease, while the number 19 represents the year that it emerged.

Cards And Payments Market Outlook

The global cards and payments market size was valued at approximately $10 trillion in 2023 and is projected to grow to around $15 trillion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5% over the forecast period. This impressive growth is primarily driven by the increasing digitization of financial services, greater consumer adoption of online and mobile payments, and expanding penetration of internet and smartphone usage across the globe.

One of the primary growth factors of the cards and payments market is the rapid advancement in technology, particularly in mobile and internet infrastructure. The proliferation of smartphones and the rising availability of high-speed internet have significantly influenced the adoption of digital payments. Consumers are increasingly relying on their mobile devices for everyday transactions, prompting businesses to adapt by offering various digital payment options. Additionally, the development of secure payment gateways and advanced encryption technologies has enhanced consumer trust in digital payment methods.

Another significant factor contributing to market growth is the shift in consumer behavior and preferences. The convenience and speed offered by online and mobile payments are unmatched, leading to a decline in cash transactions. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend by necessitating contactless payment methods to mitigate the spread of the virus. Consumers and businesses alike have become more comfortable with digital transactions, and this behavioral shift is expected to have a lasting impact on the market.

Regulatory support and government initiatives are also playing a crucial role in the expansion of the cards and payments market. Governments worldwide are promoting digital financial inclusion through various policies and programs aimed at increasing access to banking services. For instance, initiatives like India's Digital India campaign and the European Union's Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) have encouraged the adoption of digital payment methods, thereby boosting market growth.

Regionally, the Asia Pacific region is expected to witness the highest growth rate in the cards and payments market. This can be attributed to the rapid economic development, urbanization, and a large unbanked population that is gradually being brought into the formal banking system through digital means. Countries like China and India are at the forefront of this transformation, with significant investments in digital infrastructure and a burgeoning fintech ecosystem driving market growth.

Card Type Analysis

The cards and payments market is segmented into various card types, including credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, and others. Credit cards have traditionally been popular due to their credit facilities and reward programs. They allow consumers to borrow funds up to a certain limit and pay it back later, often with interest. The convenience of not needing to carry cash and the added benefits of rewards, cashback, and travel points have made credit cards a favored choice among consumers. Financial institutions continue to innovate with flexible repayment options and bonus point schemes to attract more users.

Debit cards, on the other hand, are directly linked to a consumer’s bank account and allow users to spend money they already have. They are widely accepted and offer immediate fund transfer without accruing debt. The simplicity and security associated with debit cards make them a popular choice for everyday transactions. With the rise of contactless payments, debit card usage has surged, as consumers appreciate the convenience of tapping their cards for swift transactions.

Prepaid cards offer another layer of flexibility and control for users. These cards are not linked to any bank account and are loaded with a specific amount of money. They are particularly useful for budgeting purposes or for specific use cases like travel or gifting. Prepaid cards also provide a safer alternative to carrying cash and can be used in places where credit or debit cards are accepted. The growing trend of digital wallets and e-gift cards is further propelling the demand for prepaid cards.

Other types of cards, including store cards and fleet cards, cater to niche markets but also contribute to the overall growth of the cards and payments market. Store cards are issued by specific retailers and offer rewards or discounts for purchases made at the issuing store. Fleet cards are used by b

The Indian state of Punjab reported the highest number of active coronavirus (COVID-19) cases of over one thousand cases as of October 20, 2023. Kerala and Karnataka followed, with relatively lower casualties. That day, there were a total of over 44 million confirmed infections across India.

The Third Plague Epidemic began in the mid-1800s in Yunnan, China, (an area that is still a natural reservoir for the Yersinia pestis bacteria) and had a huge death toll across Asia in the next century. While plague was confined to the Yunnan region for some decades, the mass displacement and social upheaval caused by the Taiping Rebellion saw millions flee the area , bringing the disease to other parts of the country. A plague epidemic then emerged in British-controlled Hong Kong in 1894, where merchants then unknowingly transported infected rats to other parts of the empire along various trade routes. Arrival in Bombay The first Indian cases were reported in Bombay (present-day Mumbai), and the Bombay Presidency suffered more losses than any other region in India (although there were some individual years where the state of Punjab reported more deaths). As with most disease or famine outbreaks in the region, the British authorities were slow to react, and their eventual response was in many ways too late. In some cases authorities even facilitated the spread of the disease; with multiple accounts of the military forcing healthy people into quarantine camps, evicting and burning homes of the afflicted, or by using such excessive force that the public would refuse medical help. Spread in India Lack of understanding among the Indian public was also to their own detriment. Some religions in India forbid the killing of rats, while some people simply refused to acknowledge that they were sick. As the plague in Bombay spiraled out of control, many fled to other parts of the country, taking the plague with them. It is estimated that there were over one million deaths in India by 1902, and almost one million further deaths in 1903 alone. The first four months of 1904 also saw over half a million deaths, almost matching the entire total for 1902. Plague would remain endemic to India for the next few decades, and there are varying reports of up to 10 or 12 million total plague deaths in this time. The public health measures taken to combat the plague in the early 20th century would mark the beginnings of India's public health system, and some of the quarantine measures put in place by the colonial government were even used in 2020 during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of April 13, 2024, India had the highest number of confirmed deaths due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the Asia-Pacific region, with over 533 thousand deaths. Comparatively, Indonesia, which had the second highest number of coronavirus deaths in the Asia-Pacific region, recorded approximately 162 thousand COVID-19 related deaths as of April 13, 2024. Contrastingly, Bhutan had reported 21 deaths due to COVID-19 as of April 13, 2024.