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India's growth is considerably influenced by different economic classes with remarkable financial contribution. This paper attempts to study the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on investment behaviour of economic classes. Economic class is grouping of individuals on the basis of their earnings. Fundamentally, there are three classes including upper, lower and middle. Population with an annual income of 2.5 lacs to 20 lacs is regarded as middle class and below 2.5 lacs and above 20 lacs are considered as lower and upper class respectively. In finance, investment is procuring any item, commodity or an asset with an intention to generate income and wealth through diverse strategies and it can also be deposition of funds in defined services. During this ongoing pandemic, the fear of unforeseen and financial challenges faced by businesses, salaried employees and others. Therefore, this research focuses on certain objectives like assessing determinants and motivators of investment, investing options normally availed by different classes of people, channels of investment accessible to them and impact of pandemic on investment preferences of investors. Sample is collected from three major states of western India specifically Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan using simple random sampling. Primary data has been collected using questionnaire, telephonic interview etc. and secondary data from internet, journals, and textbooks. Exploratory research method has been used. Researcher has applied chi square test to check the hypothesis whether there is significant impact of COVID-19 on investment behaviour of individuals. From this analysis, it has been observed that only upper-class investors are interested in gold, real estate, stock market and mutual funds while major population of middle and lower class wish to invest in fixed deposits, PPF and insurance. Further, it is discovered that pandemic has significantly affected investment of population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's growth is considerably influenced by different economic classes with remarkable financial contribution. This paper attempts to study the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on investment behaviour of economic classes. Economic class is grouping of individuals on the basis of their earnings. Fundamentally, there are three classes including upper, lower and middle. Population with an annual income of 2.5 lacs to 20 lacs is regarded as middle class and below 2.5 lacs and above 20 lacs are considered as lower and upper class respectively. In finance, investment is procuring any item, commodity or an asset with an intention to generate income and wealth through diverse strategies and it can also be deposition of funds in defined services. During this ongoing pandemic, the fear of unforeseen and financial challenges faced by businesses, salaried employees and others. Therefore, this research focuses on certain objectives like assessing determinants and motivators of investment, investing options normally availed by different classes of people, channels of investment accessible to them and impact of pandemic on investment preferences of investors. Sample is collected from three major states of western India specifically Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan using simple random sampling. Primary data has been collected using questionnaire, telephonic interview etc. and secondary data from internet, journals, and textbooks. Exploratory research method has been used. Researcher has applied chi square test to check the hypothesis whether there is significant impact of COVID-19 on investment behaviour of individuals. From this analysis, it has been observed that only upper-class investors are interested in gold, real estate, stock market and mutual funds while major population of middle and lower class wish to invest in fixed deposits, PPF and insurance. Further, it is discovered that pandemic has significantly affected investment of population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effects of an intervention comprising surveillance and an organisational change called Appreciative Inquiry on puerperal infections in hospitals in Gujarat state, India. Methods: This longitudinal cohort study with a control group was conducted over 16 months between 2010 and 2012. Women who delivered in six hospitals were followed-up. After a five month pre-intervention period, the intervention was introduced in three hospitals. Monthly incidence of puerperal infection was recorded throughout the study in all six hospitals. A chi-square test and logistic regression were used to examine for associations, trends and interactions between the intervention and control groups. Findings: Of the 8,124 women followed up, puerperal infections were reported in 319 women (3.9%) over the course of the study. Puerperal sepsis/genital tract infections and urinary tract infections were the two most common puerperal infections. At the end of the study, infection incidence in the control group halved from 7.4% to 3.5%. Levels in the intervention group reduced proportionately even more, from 4.3% to 1.7%. A chi-square test for trend confirmed the reduction of infection in the intervention and control groups (p<0.0001) but the trends were not statistically different from one another. There was an overall reduction of infection by month (OR = 0.94 95% CI 0.91–0.97). Risk factors like delivery type, complications or delivery attendant showed no association with infection. Conclusion: Interruption of resource flows in the health system occurred during the intervention phase, which may have affected the findings. The incidence of infection fell in both control and intervention groups during the course of the study. It is not clear if appreciative inquiry contributed to the reductions observed. A number of practical and methodological limitations were faced. Trial Registration: Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN03513186 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]