India, the world¡¯s third-largest oil consumer behind the U.S. and China, was meant to be a major driver of oil¡¯s demand recovery as economies reopened. But the country¡¯s devastating health crisis has made that impossible. Everyone from oil traders to the world¡¯s biggest producers are panicking.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing mounting criticism over a surge in coronavirus cases that began shortly after his government declared the country was "in the endgame of the COVID-19 pandemic,¡± allowed large election rallies and gave the go-ahead to the Kumbh Mela religious festival that attracted an estimated 3.5 million devotees.
As my Bloomberg Opinion colleague David Fickling wrote, the current situation in India means COVID-19 will probably kill more people in 2021 than it did last year. The pandemic death toll in the country is likely to be many times higher than official figures suggest.
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