Consumer sentiment in India's recovery

The Indian economy has surprised analysts and investors alike with its smart recovery from the severe lockdown during the first quarter of 2020-21. Growth that bounced back from -23.9 per cent in the first quarter to -7.5 per cent now seems poised to return to the positive zone in the third quarter.

The smartest recovery is in corpo­r­ate profits, in the second and third qu­arters. Many supply-side fast freq­u­ency indicators — such as crop pro­d­­­uction, power generation, freight movement and GST collections — pro­­vide evidence of a continuation of the recovery story into the third qu­arter of fiscal 2020-21. On