Pandemic pushed over 3 crore Indians out of middle class: Pew Research

20-03-2021

A recent research report has revealed that the novel coronavirus pandemic last year pushed approximately 3.2 crore Indians out of the middle class.
The report prepared by the US-based Pew Research Center showed that the number of Indians in the middle class — those who earn between $10 (Rs 724) to $20 (Rs 1,449) per day — shrunk by roughly 3.2 crores. It also revealed that a high rate of job losses had pushed millions into poverty in India. Almost a year into the pandemic, the strength of India’s middle class has shrunk to 6.6 crores, down a third from a pre-pandemic estimate of 9.9 crores, added the report. As per the ministry, recovered cases comprise 96.26% of the total cases reported in India so far. On the other hand, active cases comprise 2.36% and deaths comprise 1.38% of the total cases. India crossed a landmark milestone of administering over 4 crore coronavirus vaccines across the country. As per data given by the Union health ministry, a total of 4,11,55,978 people have been vaccinated so far out of which 18,16,161 people were vaccinated on Friday.