GDP to grow 1.6% in FY21: Goldman

TNN | Apr 9, 2020, 07:55 IST

NEW DELHI: India’s GDP growth is estimated to plunge to 1.6% for fiscal year 2021due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, down from the earlier projection of 3.3%, Goldman Sachs economists have said.
“The 1.6% growth for FY21 would be deeper compared to widely perceived ‘recessions’ India experienced in the 1970s, 1980s and in 2009,” Prachi Mishra and Andrew Tilton said in their report, titled ‘An unprecedented sudden stop for India’.
This is the sharpest downgrade in growth estimates after Fitch and SBI lowered their estimates to 30-year lows.
The report said the spread of the virus, a nationwide lockdown, social distancing measures and fears among consumers and businesses, have all escalated sharply over two weeks and high frequency data, as well as anecdotal evidence, although still limited, suggest a significant contraction in economic activity. It said that the shock is different this time around compared to the previous “recessions”.