Needed: A demand-boosting Budget
Given 2020 has been tough, and things aren’t improving soon, will the FM give a boost to spending? Joydeep Ghosh It has been a rough year for working professionals all across the world. But in a country like India, the impact has been more pronounced due to fewer safety mechanisms like doles for unemployment from the government such as the USA or other countries. The job loss crisis in India has been exceptionally high. Since April 2020, when India went into a complete lockdown due to the Covid-19 crisis, 1.89 crore (19 million) salaried people lost their jobs in the first few months, according to reports based on data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Out of this, 50 lakh (5 million) jobs were lost in July alone. Even its latest data shows that urban India, which accounted for 32 per cent of total employment, say 34 per cent loss of employment till December 2020. And many who were spared the pink slip took severe salary cuts. Reports suggest th