Covid slump may cause 7.7% GDP contraction in FY21: First Advance Estimate

The government's First Advance Estimate suggests the worst performance ever for the Indian economy in the wake of the slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic

India’s economy is set for its biggest annual contraction in records going back to 1952 as the rapid spread of coronavirus cases and measures to contain them hurt businesses and households.

Gross domestic product will shrink 7.7% in the financial year ending March 2021, the statistics ministry said in its first advance estimate published on Thursday. That’s steeper than a 7.5% drop forecast by the Reserve Bank of India, as well as economists surveyed by Bloomberg and other agencies.

Agriculture is projected to grow at 3.4 per cent this financial year and manufacturing to contract 9.4 per cent. Trade, hotel, and transport