[locusjag]

I've been requested, or begged, to give money 3 times now in Chennai. This has never happened before in my lifetime. These weren't beggars, or one of those actors who are dressed to play their miserable roles as mendicants. These were perfectly normal people who would pause and shrink in stature while they asked me. And everytime I'd give it to them, I could see their discomfiture showing through - you can tell that they're not used to begging.

I've always given them cash, not coins, for my part. And I wonder what profession each of them was engaged in before the lockdowns took effect.

I mean, we've been hearing that this economic crisis is unprecedented in India - perhaps I've only now witnessed second-hand how bad it is.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by locusjag

I've been requested, or begged, to give money 3 times now in Chennai. This has never happened before in my lifetime. These weren't beggars, or one of those actors who are dressed to play their miserable roles as mendicants. These were perfectly normal people who would pause and shrink in stature while they asked me. And everytime I'd give it to them, I could see their discomfiture showing through - you can tell that they're not used to begging.

I had a similar experience, in Bangalore though. A gentleman maybe in his late 50s - the personal demeanour exactly how you described. Gave me a sense that the person was not used to this approach being requested for money to making ends meet.

Hope things take a turn for the better soon.

[Warwithwheels]

No doubt that Businesses reinventing themselves to combat COVID is gonna be a major case study in all B schools in a couple of years.

But then, there are also few of them who go overboard by making COVID a marketing lingo and try to fleece customers. COVID offer for wedding packages?





PS: The resort is a very normal place, probably with a 3 star rating. The offer prices works out Rs. 4000/ head which is almost twice the amount charged by a 5 star luxury hotels for a banquet event.

[nickatnite]

Poverty will slowly creep upon us and start peaking further as our country is now seemingly getting hard hit by the pandemic.The sufferers will have to face the circumstances with renewed spirit and courage especially those belonging to the middle class and the poor sections of society .Probably the only way for their survival in the times to come.

[volkman10]

The Virurs changed the Auto industry: Top 3 slots remain the same.

These were the top 10 biggest vehicle markets in April & Jan-Apr 2020.

COVID19 changed the industry so much that 3 new countries hit the top 10 in April: Korea, Australia, Mexico.

By the end of this year we’ll likely see South Korea occupying the 6th position outselling Brazil, UK



The changing positions... where will India slot in the chart by end 2020? S Korea sees a positive growth.

APRIL 2020 when India reported Zero sales,

[Miyata]

One effect of the covid-affected economy we are seeing locally quite a few places in Bangalore - The milk packets and some amazon deliveries are getting stolen!

Twice it happened my place the milk packets placed outside by the Supr Daily people was missing. Others have complained of the same. The milk delivery guy told us this morning that he is the one that gets penalized if milk packets are reported missing! Planning on checking the CCTV to catch the culprit - have a suspicion it could be one of the house keeping staff. Hope their position remains safe.

Few of the apartments around have also reported their amazon packets going missing! They have had to fight it out with amazon for those missing but paid packages.

[INJAXN]

Originally Posted by Miyata

One effect of the covid-affected economy we are seeing locally quite a few places in Bangalore - The milk packets and some amazon deliveries are getting stolen!

This has even happened in society I live in. 4-5 such reports are there.
one guy has been seen in CCTV footage picking up milk packets, not sure if security has caught him or not.

But, it never occurred to anyone that he might be doing out of compulsion. He might have lost his job during start of pandemic and have family to feed. I know he is still wrong in doing that, but we all assumed that he is a kleptomaniac.

We have to be careful even in areas we think safe.

[Miyata]

Originally Posted by INJAXN

He might have lost his job during start of pandemic and have family to feed. I know he is still wrong in doing that, but we all assumed that he is a kleptomaniac.

If we do manage to catch the culprit, the plan is first have a serious chat. Check what the excuses are, see if they are verifiable. I think most of us are sensitive on that part particularly in these times. If their excuses check out just fine, I am sure many will come forward to help out in different ways - including offering regular supply of dairy.

There will of course be some gung-ho characters in every apartment that will just want to have the culprit punished. We'll have to keep such characters sedated for a while.

On a related note - in our complex, few of these gung-ho characters were also dead against providing monetary help to some of the people that work here. They were respectfully asked to back-off and let others do their work.

[fordday]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Real GDP growth in quarter ended March 2020, 3.1% with only 1 week of lockdown

This even with our govt's constant jugglery with the numbers.
Actual numbers might be far worse. Notable in this figure is that a disproportionate share is from Govt expenditure.

Consumption and demand went down much before Corona hit us. Now we are facing a disaster.

And govt as usual will blame the last seventy years for all this mess.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by locusjag

I've been requested, or begged, to give money 3 times now in Chennai. This has never happened before in my lifetime. These weren't beggars, or one of those actors who are dressed to play their miserable roles as mendicants. These were perfectly normal people who would pause and shrink in stature while they asked me. And everytime I'd give it to them, I could see their discomfiture showing through - you can tell that they're not used to begging.

I've always given them cash, not coins, for my part. And I wonder what profession each of them was engaged in before the lockdowns took effect.

I mean, we've been hearing that this economic crisis is unprecedented in India - perhaps I've only now witnessed second-hand how bad it is.

Agreed.

After all, I have heard rumors on the ground that iconic fast food chain, Haldiram's fired over 500 staff as per staff at a mall where their outlet closed down. This level of pain is unprecedented and the worst hit are the landless who sold their limited possessions to come to the cities and now have no village to go back to.

I myself normally do not give to any beggars but to such folks, I give a minimum of 400-500 to each person - 5kg atta, daal, oils. It makes me feel grateful for my circumstances that even if I don't earn a penny, I will not be reduced to such a state for years. Hence the least I can do is donate.

Just a suggestion reposted from my insta - please annotate anything you give - I just annotated donation in Hindi on the bag. Explain it kindly to the person that it is only for his / her use, but not for reselling. Open to better ideas on this subject.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by fordday

This even with our govt's constant jugglery with the numbers.
Actual numbers might be far worse. Notable in this figure is that a disproportionate share is from Govt expenditure.

Consumption and demand went down much before Corona hit us. Now we are facing a disaster.

I would assume the numbers are accurate. A -3.1% versus $5 or so the previous quarter is a 7%+ swing -- really huge. The worrisome piece is this indicates that negative growth or economic contraction set in even without much help from the lockdown. As I have stated elsewhere in this thread I expect the economy to shrink by over 10%. GST collections for April were Rs 43,000 crores or roughly 40% of where they should have been. Significant economic problems always create a political effect.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Just a suggestion reposted from my insta - please annotate anything you give - I just annotated donation in Hindi on the bag. Explain it kindly to the person that it is only for his / her use, but not for reselling. Open to better ideas on this subject.
Attachment 2015230

This is brilliant. With car break-ins on the rise here, I am going to annotate on the window, "Owner only, not for stealing"
Only thing I am worried about is getting a suitable permanent marker which can survive car washes.
Thanks for the tip!

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

I would assume the numbers are accurate. A -3.1% versus $5 or so the previous quarter is a 7%+ swing -- really huge. The worrisome piece is this indicates that negative growth or economic contraction set in even without much help from the lockdown. As I have stated elsewhere in this thread I expect the economy to shrink by over 10%. GST collections for April were Rs 43,000 crores or roughly 40% of where they should have been. Significant economic problems always create a political effect.

Not to mention so many businesses who cannot recover. We have had some restaurants and stores here which have shut down permanently now. Car rental firm Hertz has filed for bankruptcy.
Ironically the only thing going up is the stock market, atleast in USA.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

.

Ironically the only thing going up is the stock market, atleast in USA.

Just about all stock markets have gone up considerably and are getting close to where they were prior the Corona outbreak. But financial market and economy are two very different things. Fiancial markets tend to look towards the future 6-9 months ahead. Most if not all countries hit by the Coronavirus are yet to see the real economic effects. Just about everybody forecast considerable shrinkage of their respective economies.

I was attending a financial market seminar by ABN AMRO earlierThey are predicting a stable, possible very small growth for Q3. Those will be the effects of some businesses returning to some sort of normal. But for Q4-20 and Q1-21 they are expecting further decline as companies will have gone bust, many people unemployed, companies and consumers still hesitant to spend.

So the financial markets are counting on some small mid term growth, but don't expect the overall economy to follow suit. Or more precisely, us, joe average to be back where we were any time soon

Look at the financial crisis. The stock market recovered within 18-24 months. But it took many more years for ordinary people to get back on their feet and feel anything from this financial market recovery. And that recession was much smaller than what we are now expecting!

Jeroen

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by fordday

And govt as usual will blame the last seventy years for all this mess.

And don't forget Force Majeure clause - Covid.
In fact for people who love to live in denial, the more believable story will be that we were doing great till Covid struck. And even after that we are doing much better than expected. Check out our PMs CII speech.

Sutripta

[fordday]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Significant economic problems always create a political effect.

That is a loaded statement, sir!!
Care to elaborate