Covid impact on India's poor

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  Covid impact on India's poor

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• The story: A May report by 'Hunger Watch' claimed that Covid-19 has left the urban poor in India poorer, more hungry and with less nutrition than their rural counterparts. 'Hunger Watch' is a collection of social groups and movements. A study from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had found that an additional 207 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030 due to the severe long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Pew research: A new research conducted by Pew Research Center has found that the Covid-19 has pushed about 32 million Indians out of the middle class and increased poverty in the country. That is a dangerous rise in destitution, with a potential to destabilise chunks of economy.
• The dimensions of impact: 

1. Economic - The food insecurity has prompted more people to enter the labour force (55% increase in the labour force among the respondents). It also noted a silent rise in child labour as well. The economic crisis was deepening as people who lost their jobs were yet to find replacements and little had been accomplished after the lockdown for the revival of livelihoods in the informal sector.
2. Public Distribution System and Schemes - A large section of rural residents could cushion the blow of pandemic-driven economic disruption due to foodgrain via the Public Distribution System (PDS). The urban poor’s access to such ration, however, was minimal. The social security schemes also had relatively better coverage among the rural poor as rural areas had better access to PDS rations.
3. Nutrition and hunger - A decline in nutritional quality and quantity was more among the urban respondents as was the need to borrow money for buying food.The levels of hunger and food insecurity remained high, with little hope of the situation improving without measures specifically aimed at providing employment opportunities as well as food support. Even when India had a record food grain production at 296.65 million tonnes in the 2019-20 crop year (July-June), beating the target of 291.1 million tonnes and 4% higher than 2018-19, the net of hunger became more widespread as more people had to start skipping some meals in a day.
4. National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data - The figures in the Hunger Watch report are alarming, especially when seen in conjunction with the recent rounds of NFHS data. The NFHS data has shown either a worsening or stagnation in malnutrition outcomes such as prevalence of stunting and wasting among children and high levels of anaemia among women and children.

• Government initiatives: Many schemes were launched, including (i) Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, (ii) Reserve Bank of India’s Covid-19 Economic Relief Package, and (iii) Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India).
• Summary: Since the majority of the poor already had low incomes to begin with, a further reduction in household income is akin to taking a bullet train to hunger. This calls for special attention on social protection measures including schemes for provision of subsidised food and employment guarantee in urban areas. 

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