Street Vendors Impacted by COVID-19 in India

Gone are the days where India’s streets were bustling with enterprise. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the hardest hit groups have been Indian street vendors, who rely on crowded streets to make their living. It isn’t uncommon to get swarmed by street vendors at every stop light selling all kinds of goods such as food, handmade crafts, and books. India attracts tourists from all over the world for its versatile street markets that are full of lively culture. It would be very remiss to not acknowledge the integral role street vendors play in city life. It’s a rooted city staple to stop by chai-walas (street tea vendors) to get your afternoon cutting tea. Unfortunately, these vendors aren’t afforded work from home privileges.

These vendors don’t act alone. The act of “vending usually involves multiple members of the family” and a far-reaching supply chain (Pandey, 2020). These families typically live well below the poverty line in slums or lower-class neighborhoods. A temporary halt in business puts the livelihood of Indian posterity in question. Furthermore, the inability for vendors to sell is affecting smaller wholesale markets and suppliers that vendors buy from, impressing a deep-seated urban impact with far reaching consequences. In March, Prime Minister Modi imposed a strict lockdown, leaving many vendors destitute overnight. Those that still ventured into the streets despite the lockdown to sell goods were met brutally with police harassment. After a month of strict lockdown, some vendors were permitted to operate, largely due to the work of activist networks and not of the government’s own willingness to protect all of its residents equally. It must be noted that all of these vendors are so-called formal vendors. In Delhi, out of approximately 300,000 street vendors, only 130,000 have some sort of an occupational identification, bestowing upon them a formal vendor status (Pandey, 2020). Despite being allowed to open, tight domestic travel restrictions have caused wholesale suppliers to increase their costs, making it hard for vendors to simply break even. Vendors that sell perishable goods are having an even harder time because if they are unable to sell their goods, they are forced to throw away produce, leading to significant losses (Majithia, 2020).

This then compels the question, is the government doing enough to make sure protections are extended to them?

The government announced a “special micro-credit facility” amounting to a total of 5000 crore INR (approx. $1 billion USD) for nearly 50 million street vendors (Banerji, 2020). This loan scheme will provide them 10,000 INR ($135) as initial working capital. This scheme was part of Indian Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s INR 20 trillion (USD 260 Billion) stimulus package to help restart the economy during the pandemic (Banerji, 2020).

The average street vendor makes anywhere between 15.00 to 20,000 INR/monthly (Madhavan, 2020). March was the first month where income took a severe hit, leaving many vendors with under 15,000-rupees. Since then, Vendors have been requesting a monthly compensation of 15,000 INR for rent and school fees for children (Madhavan, 2020). While the government has compensated cab and auto drivers, street vendors are largely neglected as many of them aren’t recognized as formal enterprise owners. Only formal vendors are afforded this 10,000-rupee loan from the government. Most vendors don’t fall into this category. This plan, while well intentioned, barely makes a dent to help restart these small businesses.

As opposed to a loan, vendors would greatly benefit from a cash grant to help recalibrate their businesses. In order to restart any business, there needs to be a steady supply of cash. How can the government possibly expect fledgling businesses to repay loans, especially when the economy has barely recovered and a third wave of the virus might be on the horizon? As stated above, vendors rely on a far-reaching web of small suppliers. The 10,000 INR doesn’t come close to cover the costs needed to restore business as 100%. Although not as rigid in May, India is still under lockdown. If people aren’t leaving their houses, how will street vendors find customers to sell their goods to?

The government should be providing support regardless of the formal status of vendors. The government should take an active role in surveying and registering vendors to help these businesses reap economic benefits and also archive this important economic data.

As the country slowly eases its lockdown restrictions, the government needs to make sure that street markets are operated with hygiene and social distancing measures. The government could possibly designate various zones meant just for street markets. These zones should be regularly serviced, making sure that running water is available, hand sanitizing stations are installed at every corner, and ensuring that vendors are at least 6 feet apart (Majithia, 2020).

This pandemic has been a wake-up call to most countries, explicitly highlighting income inequality. In a country as ethnically and economically diverse and populous as India, the government has always struggled to provide a plan that is equally helpful to all income brackets. The global situation has unquestionably tested the agility of the state government. It’s clear that the state prioritizes certain groups over others. However, the Indian government needs to understand that unfairly prioritizing one economic (or ethnic) group over another is nothing but a barrier to growth. When street vendors hurt, the economy hurts. The sooner the government recognizes this issue, the faster the economy will rebound.

Sources

Banerji, Annie. “FEATURE-Indian Street Vendors 'Shattered' as Coronavirus Wrecks Trade.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 21 Sept. 2020, www.reuters.com/article/healthcoronavirus-india-workers-idUSL8N2GB44R. 

Madhavan, Ranjani. “Off the Streets, Bengaluru Vendors Struggle to Earn a Living during Pandemic.” The New Indian Express, The New Indian Express, 20 July 2020, www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2020/jul/20/off-the-streets-bengaluru-vendors-struggle-to-earn-a-living-during-pandemic-2172172.html. 

Majithia, Avi Singh. “Impact of COVID-19 on Street Vendors in India: Status and Steps for Advocacy.” WIEGO, July 2020, www.wiego.org/impact-covid-19-street-vendors-india-status-and-steps-advocacy. 

Himanshu, Pandey. “Policy Push: Street Vendors' Livelihoods in Post-Covid World - ET Government.” Economic Times Government, 10 June 2020, government.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy-push-street-vendors-livelihoods-in-post-covid-world/76296116.