India’s growth to slip to 0.8%: Fitch
International rating agency Fitch today cut India's economic growth projections to 0.8 percent in the current 2020-21 financial year, saying an unparalleled global recession was underway due to disruptions caused by coronavirus pandemic and resultant lockdowns.
In its Global Economic Outlook, Fitch Ratings said India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth will slip to 0.8 percent for April 2020 to March 2021, compared to an estimated 4.9 percent growth in the previous fiscal.
The growth is, however, expected to rebound to 6.7 percent in 2021-22, it added.
The rating agency predicted two consecutive quarters of contraction or negative year-on-year growth in the ongoing fiscal -- (-)0.2 percent in April-June and (-)0.1 percent in July-September. This compares to 4.4 percent estimated growth in January-March.
The growth is, however, expected to rebound to 1.4 percent in the last quarter of the 2020 calendar year.
Meanwhile, top opposition leader and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, addressing a meeting of the party's top decision-making forum, the Congress Working Committee, said it was imperative to provide at least Rs 7,500 to each family to tide themselves over during the crisis caused by coronavirus and lockdowns, our new Delhi correspondent reports.
She said 12 crore jobs have been lost in the first phase of the lockdown from March 25 to April 14 and unemployment is likely to increase further as economic activity remains at a standstill.
Sonia demanded a special package for medium, small and micro enterprises which employ close to 11 crore people and account for one-third of India's GDP.
She said coronavirus has increased disturbingly both in spread and speed for the past three weeks.
"We have repeatedly urged that there is no alternative to testing, tracing and quarantine; unfortunately, testing still is low," Sonia said.
She alleged that the ruling BJP continued "to spread the virus of communal prejudice" and hatred "when we should be fighting the pandemic unitedly."
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