A man sits on the steps outside a closed and shuttered bank branch in Bengaluru. (Photographer: Namas Bhojani/Bloomberg News)
The second wave of Covid-19 infections will likely pose a greater risk for lenders to the “self-employed”, who may be the first to see a decline in income if the economy worsens. Unlike in the first wave, the government has so far stayed away from a nationwide lockdown, which may protect salaried workers.