India’s GDP to contract by 9.6% this fiscal, predicts World Bank

Last updated on February 17th, 2023 at 12:42 pm

On Thursday the World Bank said that it is expected of India’s GDP to contract by 9.6% this fiscal. The drop is said to be a showcase of nationwide lockdown and income shrinkage experienced in India due to Covi-19. This puts India’s economic condition the worst ever experienced.

South Asia Economic Focus report was released by the Washington based global lender, before the annual meeting between International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The report forecasts a steep economic slump across the South Asia region, with regional growth contraction of 7.7% in 2020. This exceeded the 6% annual drop in the past five years. The World Bank said in its released report that India’s GDP is expected to contract by 9.6% in the fiscal year which started in March. It further said that regional growth is expected to rebound to 4.5% in 2021.

“It is an exceptional situation in India. A very dire outlook”

Hans Timmer, World Bank Chief Economist for South Asia

“It is an exceptional situation in India. A very dire outlook,” said Hans Timmer, World Bank Chief Economist for South Asia.

According to the World Bank, monetary policy in India has been aggressively deployed and the country’s fiscal resources have been sourced towards public health and social protection. However, the Fneed of additional optimistic measures cannot be overlooked, within a revised medium-term fiscal framework.

Mr. Timmer lauded the Indian government for doing an impressive work with limited resources and limited fiscal space.

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