Impact Of Covid-19 On Livelihood And Informal Sector In India: A Review

Abstract

India has been considered one of the top countries with the largest informal sector in the world. The informal sector has been a major contributor to livelihood, income, and the country’s economy. However, with the outbreak of Covid-19 and the declaration of the global pandemic the whole economic system has been disrupted, as millions of migrant workers returned to their native villages leading to a huge economic loss in both formal and informal sectors. The highly contagious nature of the disease has led to a complete halt of all economic activities across the world. India is a developing country, highly dependent on the informal sector, and with the outbreak of Covid-19, the already struggling economy has gone down to its lowest level. The informal sector received the hardest hit due to its informal nature, high risk, and vulnerability to external shocks. The most vulnerable groups, small business enterprises, farmers, migrant workers, and the indigenous people have been affected the most. The study seeks to assess the level of impact, the challenges, and issues created by the pandemic, and the ways forward to recover from the crisis. The study is based on secondary data sources through published journals, news articles, government reports, etc. The study reveals that the Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted the informal sector in terms of unemployment, migration, poverty, hunger, death, deprivation, and inequality. The study also shows that decline in demand and supply, as well as a drop in wages and income, has resulted in the failure of many small businesses, manufacturing industries, and other service sectors, resulting in a drop in the country's economy.