The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown has caused massive disruption in almost every sector of the economy in India and informal sector has been the worst affected. The sericulture and handloom industry being the second most employers in the informal sector is important to the economy in terms of employment generation, output and export. But, the industry has been engulfed with manifold problems since its inception and COVID-19 crisis worsened the condition of the sericulture workers.

In this context, the current study is an attempt to look into the impact of pandemic and lockdown on the industry in the informal sector in Karnataka and the key problems faced by the workers in their everyday life. Taking information from both primary and secondary sources, it is observed that the sericulture industry in Karnataka is severely affected by COVID-19 and lockdown which resulted in loss of income and livelihood to the handloom workers.

Ban on non-essential transportation facilities led to unavailability of raw materials, inflated price of yarn and dyes. Closure of markets resulted in unsold clothes piling up in weavers’ residents which drastically affected revenue generation in this sector. The weavers are living and working in ill standard houses and suffering from malnutrition, indebtedness etc.