India's economy to contract 5.9 per cent in 2020, says UN trade body

India had announced a Rs 20-trillion stimulus package for vulnerable sections of society and small businesses

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has projected India’s economy to contract 5.9 per cent in 2020, and warned the country to not repeat its past mistake of announcing austerity measures. It forecast the economy to grow 3.9 per cent next year.

“In the case of India, the baseline scenario is a sharp recession in 2020 as strict lockdown measures to stem the virus’s spread brought many productive activities to a halt across the country,” UNCTAD said in its report for 2020, titled From Global Pandemic To Prosperity for All: Avoiding Another Lost Decade.

It said, “Although we expect