Gauging the impact of Omicron on the country's GDP though the MPC lens

It is widely accepted that the Omicron spread would impact the ongoing quarter but it would be much softer than that of the second wave on the first quarter of the current fiscal

There are varying estimates of the effects of Omicron on the gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the fourth quarter of the current financial year.

The estimates by some economists are in the 20-40 basis point range, while others say it is difficult to quantify the impact because of the developing situation.

Let us try to estimate the damage through the monetary policy committee (MPC) of RBI lens, or in other words, its growth projections at various times during the current financial year.

At the start of the year, the MPC was somewhat optimistic about the Indian economy, pegging its