Businesses in India have closed and many have lost jobs as swaths of the country have gone back into lockdown
India’s economy was bouncing back after a nationwide lockdown last year stifled consumer spending and pushed the country into aAs the South Asian nation battles the, states and cities across the country have gone back into lockdown. Many nonessential businesses have closed, and people are once again hunkering down at home. Private consumption, which makes up more than half of India’s gross domestic product, is expected to plunge, economists said.
“The immediate impact of the second wave is that recovery is going to take a big setback,” said Mahesh Vyas, chief executive at the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, an independent think tank in Mumbai. The economy is in a “very shaky position,” he added, as the virus spreads beyond major cities into most corners of the country.
Payal Das, 33 years old, lost her work as a domestic cook and cleaner after the nation’s capital, New Delhi,in late April. Her employers were scared of the rising infections and fled the city, she said. No other families in the area want to hire new help. “They think we are infection-carriers,” she said.
Ms. Das said she is worried about how to feed her 7-year-old daughter and pay for school fees. Her husband’s work as a drummer at weddings has also dried up. The couple has been so consumed by fights about money that they recently decided to divorce, she said.
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