3. Lives, Livelihoods and Government Support in the Wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Rural Bihar

By collecting primary data through phone interviews during October 2020 through January 2021, from a sample of more than 1600 households in seven districts of rural Bihar, this study documents the living experience of these households during and following the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020. It focuses on the impacts of the pandemic on different sources of livelihood; select impacts on health, nutrition and education; and the extent of government support received by households. Detailed evidence from the study paints a picture of pervasive and severe impacts where virtually no household or source of livelihood was spared, though with some differentiation by social group and income class. The evidence also points to the meagre level of government support received by households. Many received only a fraction of the promised support at a time when existing safety nets were also compromised to a lesser or greater extent.