Moody’s Investors Service today slashed its estimate of India’s GDP growth during 2020 calendar year to 2.5 per cent, from an earlier estimate of 5.3 per cent and said the Corona virus pandemic will cause unprecedented shock to the global economy.
In its Global Macro Outlook 2020-21, Moody’s said India is likely to see a sharp fall in incomes at the estimated 2.5 per cent growth rate, further weighing on domestic demand and the pace of recovery in 2021. Moody’s said the global economy will contract in 2020, followed by a pickup in 2021.
Earlier this week, India imposed a three-week long nationwide lockdown, the most far-reaching measure undertaken by any government to curb the spread of the Corona virus pandemic. The lockdown has resulted in closure of businesses as well as factories and temporary unemployment for thousands of workers. The lockdown followed suspension of train, flight and long distance bus services last week.
Moody’s now expects real GDP in the global economy to contract by 0.5 per cent in 2020, followed by a pickup to 3.2 per cent in 2021.