Virus-Ravaged India Bets on Poor Farmers to Rescue Economy

Auto makers report record monthly sales on strong rural demand
Demand for gold to cement to shampoos jumps on bumper harvests

Farmers at the grain market in Multaniya village. Rural incomes have stayed strong as production of monsoon-sown food grains is estimated to hit record.Photographer: Sanjeev Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

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By Anurag Kotoky and Swansy Afonso

November 8, 2020 at 9:00 PM UTC

Updated on

November 9, 2020 at 9:41 AM UTC

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India’s economy left cratered by the pandemic is drawing energy from one of its invisible and often-neglected engines: farmers.

Business leaders, policy makers and politicians alike are pinning hopes on the rural sector as bountiful rains have set the stage for another year of record crops. Higher disposable incomes with farmers are expected to boost demand from automobile to cement to gold jewelry.