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Delhi's toxic air adds to India's woes as economy goes from bad to worse

Air pollution in Delhi is driving away tourists, disrupting flights and shutting schools.

Delhi air pollution
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An aerial view of New Delhi Railway station shrouded in heavy haze, in New Delhi, Monday, October 28, 2019. Photo: PTI

Vrishti Beniwal | Bloomberg New Delhi
The sudden slowdown in India’s economy is spreading from carmakers to gold, leaving policy makers fretting as the room for stimulus runs out.

A crunch that started out in the shadow banking industry and hurt retailers and auto businesses is now infecting everything from diesel to home sales. Company defaults on bonds are at a record, output of coal, cement and other heavy industries is contracting, manufacturing is shrinking and trade has plunged.

On top of that, toxic air in New Delhi is driving away tourists, disrupting flights and shutting schools. It’s all culminating in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s biggest