Covid-19 impact: Demand collapse derails infra, services sectors' growth

The second of a three-part series looks at the impact of the Covid-19  pandemic on the infrastructure, capital goods, cement, and services sectors. While a slowing economy had led to deceleration in demand, the lockdown has increased the pain, besides resulting in labour shortages and delay in project execution. With monsoon less than a month away, a revival is expected only in the December quarter for most of these sectors. The services sector, which includes hotels, real estate, and aviation, is affected the most as a sharp dip in demand is worsened by the high fixed-cost base. This results in