‘Share of large informal sector in economic activity dipped sharply in 2020-21’
The Hindu
Informal workers continue to bear the brunt of pandemic’s adverse effects, says SBI report
Signalling a greater shift towards formalisation of the economy, the share of the large informal sector in overall economic activity dipped sharply in 2020-21 even as informal workers continue to bear the brunt of the pandemic’s adverse effects, the SBI said in a research report.
Concluding that the share of the informal economy may have shrunk to no more than 20% of the economic output from about 52% in 2017-18, SBI group chief economic advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh termed this “a positive development” amid the pandemic.
There are wide variations in the formalisation levels in different sectors but the SBI estimated that the informal economy is possibly at a maximum of 15% to 20% of formal GDP in 2020-21, with at least ₹13 lakh crore coming into the formal economy through various channels in recent years.