46% Indians borrowed to run households during the pandemic

Nearly half of Indians have primarily depended upon borrowed money to run their households during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report.

With job losses and pay cuts across industries, the lower middle-income group has been affected severely and the pandemic has led to a shift in perspective towards loans and borrowing preferences, said the report by Home Credit India, a local arm of the international consumer finance provider with operations spanning over Europe and Asia.

The report, based on a survey, showed that 46% respondents borrowed money primarily to run their households.

The survey was conducted among about 1,000 respondents across seven cities to understand the borrowing patterns of people during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, it said.

“The impact of the pay cuts or delays was the next big reason why most borrowers resorted to borrowing, 27% of respondents cited repayment of their monthly instalments from the earlier loan as the second-biggest reason behind borrowing.