OF ACT OF GOD AND HUMAN FAILURES: On Tuesday, India will come out with GDP estimates for the first quarter (April - June) 2020. The Reserve Bank of India’s annual report gave a cryptic clue: “An assessment of aggregate demand during the year so far suggests that the shock to consumption is severe,..” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the economy is hit by COVID-19, an ‘Act of God’, and it will see a contraction. India’s GDP growth has been slowing even before the pandemic. It was 4.2 per cent in 2019-20, the lowest in a decade. While a contraction looks inevitable, its extent, causes and consequences remain disputed, no one seems to know what lies ahead. [COMMENT BY Babu Das Augustine, Business Editor]
AFP