In March, the Modi government imposed a lockdown to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. While containment measures had been used b...
In March, the Modi government imposed a lockdown to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. While containment measures had been used by many other countries, the scale of India’s restrictionswere unique, bringing the country of more than 1.3 billion people to a sudden halt.
Unsurprisingly, the economic hit this caused was staggering. No other major economy was as badly affected by Covid-19 as India’s. In the April-June quarter, the Indian gross domestic product shrank by 23.9% – the worst contraction ever in the country’s history. The economy also shrank in the following quarter as India entered its first economic recession since the British left in 1947.
Projections for the year 2020 were similarly dire. The International Monetary Fund calculations showed that the hit India’s economy took from the coronavirus was uniquely intense.
To counter this economic doom and gloom, the Modi government has pushed the idea that the Indian economy will rebound very rapidly. It will be a “V-shaped recovery”, according to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Long recovery
Does this mean that the Covid-19 contraction was only a blip and the things will get back to the pre-pandemic path soon? That is unlikely.
Take a look at the International Monetary Fund per capita GDP predictions, for example. This year, 2020, sees plummet by 11%,...
