Indian farmers launch nationwide strike
Industry in Punjab, already reeling under the disruption of coronavirus lockdowns, has been doubly hit as train services remain suspended by the protests. This protest has lasted for a long time and has begun eating up the economy of the state, Badish Jindal, president of Punjab s federation of small businesses, told DW.
Making a bad economic situation worse
Last week, India s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, predicted India s economy will contract by 9.5% in the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2021.
In the April-June quarter of 2020, when the lockdown was in full force, India s economy contracted by nearly a quarter, which is the worst-ever decline since India started compiling GDP statistics on a quarterly basis in 1996.