India's deprived households as partners in growth and wellbeing

The poor have really suffered loss of incomes and employment during Covid-19

An economic growth of 7.2 per cent in FY 2022-23 and Morgan Stanley’s report on broad macro indicators have been encouraging for India in tough times. While the rich have done well, the poor are still struggling with the consequences of the K-shaped recovery. Loss of income and employment has had consequences for the consumption of fast-moving consumer goods, automobiles, footwear and other products that the poor and the lower middle class use. Lack of skills interferes with non-farm opportunities, leading to a higher-than-usual dependence on agriculture for employment. Marked characteristically by underemployment, many of the wage opportunities in agriculture