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Despite formalisation gathering pace, the informal sector continues to employ about 80% of India's labour force and produces 50% of its GDP.
After the first shock of the pandemic, India's corporate sector has recovered quite well as reflected by GST collections consistently exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore in recent months and the buoyancy in the stock markets.
However, it's a different story for the unorganised sector that has borne the brunt of the lockdowns and other disruptions.
Despite formalisation gathering pace, the informal sector continues to employ about 80% of India's labour force and produces 50% of its GDP.
To be sure, about half of them are engaged in agriculture which has held up well, thanks to good rainfall and relatively inelastic demand for food products.
It is the other half, employed in the non-agricultural informal sector that is in crying need of help. Most are engaged in construction, manufacturing and in services like trade, transport, hotels, eateries etc.
With activity carried out on a minuscule scale and living hand-to-mouth at the best of times, informal employers rarely have the reserves of capital to absorb unanticipated shocks. The past two years have been especially tough, and many have closed shop.