The Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns have had an adverse impact on most Indians.
As many as 65% of the respondents in a recent survey said they had seen a reduction in income since March when the coronavirus lockdown was first announced. The survey, conducted by digital lending marketplace Paisabazaar.com, included 8,616 respondents who had outstanding debt of over Rs1 lakh ($1,356). The respondents, aged between 24 and 57, were spread across 37 Indian cities.
About 16% of the respondents said they had lost 100% of their income.
Self-employed Indians are in a far worse condition than those in salaried jobs, as per the survey.
“The pandemic has been particularly hard for India’s self-employed class, drying up cash inflows and thereby, threatening the future of their businesses,” Paisabazaar.com said.
As many as 23% of the self-employed respondents said their income had dropped 50-100%.
In terms of geographical impact, the survey said people in the southern city of Chennai were least impacted in terms of income loss, while those in Delhi-NCR were worst hit.