India’s GDP (gross domestic product) contracted the most among major economies in the June quarter. Indian economy fell 23.9% in the April-June 2021 quarter from a year earlier, showed official data released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation.
Anand Mahindra, Mahindra Group Chairman said, “The situation would have been even worse without a bountiful monsoon, which has galvanised the rural economy. India is truly fortunate that a majority of its people live in rural areas. But clearly Covid has done enormous damage to the urban & manufacturing sectors.” This was the sharpest decline since the nation started publishing quarterly figures in 1996.
COVID-19 pandemic has affected the major economies across the world. With over 4 million cases, India recorded the third highest caseload in the world. To control the spread of the virus, the central government announced a nationwide lockdown in March. Though the COVID-19 restrictions have been gradually lifted, there has been an impact on the economic activities.
Anand Mahindra added, “The ‘unlocking’ will be like a tide going out which will, I fear, starkly highlight the deprivation of daily wage earners, independent service providers & small enterprises. Bank loan portfolios will be in a precarious state & their finances will need shoring up.”
