Moody moment

摘要

LARGE AND leaky, India's lockdown became "localised" this week. In the parts of the country hit hardest by covid-19, restrictions remain. Elsewhere, they have been largely relaxed. People can visit places of worship, but cannot touch idols. They can go outside to shopping malls, but not the gaming arcades or cinemas inside. In Punjab, mall-goers can buy clothes but cannot try them on first. The lockdown, which began on March 25th, has failed to stop the virus-the caseload continues to grow alarmingly. But it has succeeded in halting the economy. The number of people in work fell to 282m in April, compared with an average of over 400m last year, reckons the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a research firm, which asks people if they were employed that day (unlike the official data, which ask if people were employed at any time that week). India's carmakers did not make a single sale to retailers in April. A gauge of services activity based on a survey of purchasing managers fell to 5.4, the lowest ever recorded for either services or manufacturing anywhere, according to IHS Markit, which conducts the surveys in over 40 countries.