The slowdown in 2019-20 was neither anomalous, nor inexplicable

It is important to remember that growth had been slowing for five consecutive quarters before 2019-20

Economists love to find trends or anomalies, and the more debatable they are, the better. The latest one doing the rounds is the idea that the anaemic 4 per cent GDP growth in 2019-20 was somehow unexpected, unprecedented, and deviating from the trend, which was of much higher growth. 

A working paper by Poonam Gupta and Abhinav Tyagi of the NCAER says 2019-20 was an exception. They say the “deep and anomalous economic slowdown in 2019-20” was anomalous because growth in 2019-20 was a lot slower than in the previous years.

To quote: “Notwithstanding the prevailing alternative narratives, the slowdown in the