Karnataka among 5 states leading recovery in economy

BENGALURU: Five states contributing nearly 27% of India’s gross domestic product are leading a recovery in the economy as the country slowly emerges from the world’s biggest lockdown, a study by Elara Securities shows.
Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana have seen a pickup in activity, based on an analysis of indicators such as power consumption, traffic movement, arrival of farm products at wholesale markets and Google mobility data, Garima Kapoor, an economist at Elara Securities in Mumbai, wrote in a note.
Some of the most industrialized states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat were trailing because of tough measures still in place to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, she said.
‘Resuming normal economic activity best stimulus for India’
India will begin a phased lifting of the nationwide lockdown from June 8, allowing shopping malls, restaurants and places of worship to reopen in areas where virus infections are under control. “The best stimulus India can have is resumption of normal economic activity,” Kapoor said. “The country is witnessing an improvement in activity but it remains sporadic.”
Punjab and Haryana were among states that saw an improvement in electricity requirement, reflecting demand from farm operations, the study showed. National capital Delhi also showed an increase in power demand as well as mobility trends. Kapoor says “We anticipate demand to persist in the upcoming months, as some are virus-related shifts in patterns.”