Economic contraction: India paid the price of lockdown for little reward

The troubles keep piling up for India, feted not long ago as a would-be commercial superpower. Economic data show the country is in far worse shape than previously thought, while it has overtaken Mexico to become the world’s third-largest tally of coronavirus cases. It will take the South Asian giant years, at least, to dig out from this hole. 

The country reported Monday its worst slump since quarterly numbers began publication in 1996: Gross domestic product shrank 23.9% in April to June compared with a year earlier. Conditions were tough even before the virus erupted because of a banking crisis that