Corona impact: GDP plummets to -23.9 percent in Q1 2020

The government has released the GDP figures for the first quarter of the current financial year. According to the data, a negative growth of 23.9 per cent has been recorded in GDP in the first quarter of the current financial year i.e. 2020-21. This drop in GDP figures is because industrial activity was severely affected in the first quarter of the current fiscal year due to the Corona virus epidemic and lockdown. During the stringent nationwide lockdown, all economic activity was stalled except for essential goods and essential services.

The Indian economy has recorded the biggest decline in 24 years in the first quarter of FY 2020-21. According to the government data released on Monday, the country’s economy declined by 23.9 percent in the April-June quarter. The corona virus epidemic has affected the economy of the whole world. This situation has arisen due to low consumer demand and dwindling private investment.

The Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation said in a statement, ‘GDP in the first quarter of 2020-21 is estimated at Rs 26.9 lakh crore as against Rs 35.35 lakh crore in the first quarter of 2019-20. It can see a decline of 23.9 percent. The government is making efforts to get the economy back on track but there is still a state of uncertainty due to the Corona pandemic.

This is the first time since 1996 when the quarterly results of GDP have seen such a huge decline. GDP growth was five per cent in the same period last year. At the same time, the GDP growth in the January-March quarter was 3.1 per cent, which was less than in the last eight years. Presenting these figures, the government said that due to the corona virus pandemic, there has been a huge reduction in private investment and a drop in consumer demand. This is why GDP has gone down so far.

Quarterly figures of GDP began to be released in the country in 1996. This is the biggest decline in the country’s GDP since then. It is also the largest decline among the major economies of Asia.

According to the data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO), an expansion of 5.2 per cent in GDP was recorded in the same quarter of the last financial year i.e. 2019-20.

Several rating agencies had projected negative growth in the country’s GDP for the first quarter of FY 2020-21. At the same time, in the Chinese economy, after the fall of 6.8 percent in the January-March quarter of 2020, it has recorded a growth of 3.2 percent in the April-June quarter.