EMPLOYMENT SCENARIO IN INFORMAL SECTOR IN INDIA UNDER LOCKDOWN-2020

The unprecedented challenges brought in by the pandemic have disturbed various structural facets of the economy. The impact is being compared to the Great Depression of 1930s, which was followed by various structural changes that have shaped the global economy in the last decade. The fast spreading virus prompted the governments worldwide to declare lockdown in four different phases. This situation impacted both the formal sector as well as the informal sector. The paper traces the different phases of lockdown in India and the impact it has had on the employment in the informal sector. The study analyzes the impact of lockdown under COVID -19 on the jobs in informal sector, in India. An attempt is made to present the scenario of job losses in the two phases of lockdown in India, in informal sector, with the objective to spell out the its probable consequences on the Indian economy and make recommendations to ease out the economic burdens of the workers in the informal sector