The report estimates that Q2 real GDP decline will be in the range of (-) 12 to (-) 15 per cent, Q3: (-) 5 to (-) 10 per cent and Q4: (-) 2 to (-) 5 per cent.
As per the official data, the Index of Eight Core Industries for July declined by (-) 9.6 per cent (provisional) compared to decline of (-) 12.9 per cent (revised) during the previous month (June).
Chidambaram further said that every other sector of the economy has declined sharply, some precipitously. Lamenting at the government, he said that the estimates do not come as a “surprise” to us.
The rate of India’s GDP growth had declined from 6.1 % in FY19 to 4.2% in FY20, the slowest in 11 years.
Sitharaman on Thursday had said the economy has been hit by the pandemic, which is an ”Act of God”, and it will see a contraction in the current fiscal.
The scrutiny has increased further after the Galwan Valley incident which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers.
The report was issued after the RBI released the minutes of the last MPC meeting in which members voted to maintain the key lending rate due to rising inflation.
The minister assured the stakeholders to extend all possible support in developing technology centres in India.
The Prime Minister initiated the transfer of Rs 17,100 crore benefit to bank accounts of 8.55 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme
Addressing the media after the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) bi-monthly meeting, he said that the economy will contract in the first half of the current fiscal due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A Railway Ministry spokesperson said that its new policy measures will further boost the incentives for all suppliers to transport their goods through railways.
“No support policy from the Central or state government is yet another crucial factor which is haunting the traders,” it said.
An investor poll at the annual Fitch on India event, held in early July, revealed that more than 75 per cent of participants believed Indian NBFIs would take more than one year to show a convincing recovery in light of the effects of the pandemic.
The urban CPI stood at 5.91 per cent and rural at 6.20 per cent .
The signs of an impending slowdown have been sharply accentuated by the Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdown. The Covid-19 pandemic has severely hit global as well as domestic growth.
In a keynote address at the 7th SBI Banking and Economics Conclave, Das noted that medium term outlook still remains uncertain.
Although South Asia had delayed and initially smaller COVID-19 outbreaks, the number of cases is increasing rapidly in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, the report said.
India’s FY20 GDP declined to 4.2 per cent from 6.1 per cent in FY19.
In many countries today, the uncertainty still starts with the virus. The path societies choose to control its spread as they strive to bring their economies back on line matters, and the stakes are high.
