According to the US-based Pew Research Centre, the number of Indians in the middle class, or those earning between $10 and $20 a day, shrunk by about 32 million.
The numbers of those in the middle class has shrunk to 66 million from a pre-pandemic estimate of 99 million.
The Pew Centre estimated the number of poor people, with incomes of $2 or less each day, has gone up by 75 million.