Which of the following statements is/are correct with reference to the poverty in India?

Which of the following statements is/are correct with reference to the poverty in India?

A. India’s middle class may have shrunk by a third due to 2020’s pandemic-driven recession.

B. The number of people who are poor in India (with incomes of $2 or less a day) is estimated to have increased by 7.5 crore because of the COVID-19 recession.

C. Both A & B

D. None of these

Explanation:

India’s middle class may have shrunk by a third due to 2020’s pandemic-driven recession, while the number of poor people — earning less than ₹150 per day — more than doubled, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center. Meanwhile, the number of people who are poor in India (with incomes of $2 or less a day) is estimated to have increased by 7.5 crore because of the COVID-19 recession. This accounts for nearly 60% of the global increase in poverty.