Heat insurance offers vital lifeline

Wilting in the heat: A vendor sprinkling water on fruits while waiting for customers along the roadside on a hot summer day in New Delhi. — AFP

A BRIGHT sun beat down on the sprawling Indian market where Kamlaben Ashokbhai Patni sat worrying about the brass jewellery on display in her wooden stall.

When the heat rises, the metal blackens. Plastic pearls become unglued.