Covid lockdown pushed 3 in 4 Dalit, tribal hamlets deeper in debt: Survey

The financial crisis and consequent indebtedness might push many into forced and bonded labour, the survey report has concluded

As millions in the country dealt with loss of livelihood and food insecurity during the COVID-19-induced lockdown, marginalised and minority communities fared much worse, a survey representative of nearly 100,000 families in 11 states has found. As livelihoods of dalits, Muslims, Adivasis and Nomadic and Denotified Tribes (DNTs) disappeared, the loss of income caused an increase in the uptake of loans, including from local moneylenders at high rates of interest.

Further, in a majority of these community hamlets, people have not received government relief; most also reported facing discrimination in relief provision, the survey led by Praxis India, a Delhi-based non-profit,