August 17, 2020

Back To The Paddy Fields. COVID Smashes Indian Middle-Class Dreams-Reuters

For years, people in rural India have been gaining prosperity and moving into what economists call a burgeoning middle class of consumers – those who earn more than $10 a day, by some definitions. This group has been a keystone of plans for economic development in the world’s second most populous country. In the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s economy is forecast to shrink by 4.5% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. At least 400 million Indian workers are at risk of falling deeper into poverty, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). Reuters, 08/17/2020