In Mumbai’s jewellery bazaar, Kavita Jogani gingerly places her wedding bangles on the shopkeeper’s scales, one of the thousands of Indians parting with their most cherished asset – gold.
It was not an easy decision – Jogani was desperate after her garment business took a severe hit in the past year and a half with multiple corona-virus lockdowns, making it difficult to pay shop bills and the salaries of her 15 emplo-yees.
The headline growth numbers suggest Asia’s third-largest economy is rebounding from the economic crisis un-leashed by Covid-19, but there is no end yet to the financial pain for many Indians.
“I don’t have any other option than selling the gold,” said Jogani as she waited nervously for the shop owner to make her an offer.
“I bought these bangles before my wedding 23 years ago,” the 45-year-old told.
Business closures and job losses pushed more than 230 million Indians into poverty in the past year, according to a study by Azim Premji University, leaving many struggling to pay rent, school fees and hospital bills.
Their difficulties have been compounded in recent weeks by soaring prices for electricity, fuel and other items.