In 2019, Scroll.in ’s Hard Times series sought to explain and illustrate how India’s slowest economic growth in a decade was affecting ...
In 2019, Scroll.in’s Hard Times series sought to explain and illustrate how India’s slowest economic growth in a decade was affecting ordinary people. This followed reporting by Scroll.in in 2016 and 2017 on the effects that demonetisation had on the lives of Indians around the country.
As the world continues to grapple with the Covid-19 crisis, Hard Times now takes a look at the impact of India’s draconian lockdown on individuals and firms from all corners of the economy. Read all of the pieces in the Lockdown Hard Times series here.
Sometime in late 2019, 26-year-old Pankaj Rabha pooled in all of the money he had managed to save from his salary as a courier delivery boy into setting up a momo stall in Guwahati’s Beltola market. Rabha ran a tight ship – in terms of help, he only had his long-time neighbour, Sanjay Boro.
The stall, which does not have a name, took off quickly. At Rs 50 a plate, the pork momos (five mid-sized dumplings with a side of chicken broth) were the biggest hit, according to Rabha. “We had a regular bunch of customers who would come almost every evening,” he said. “We were doing business of around Rs 1,500 daily.”
With around Rs 700-Rs 800 going into the raw materials, Rabha made a profit of...
