Asia’s third-biggest economy, India, has entered into recession for the first time in twenty-five years due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Official data shows the gross domestic product (GDP) for the July-September quarter (Q3) fell by 7.5% compared to the same period in 2019 when the economy grew by more than 4%. That follows a record drop of nearly 24% in GDP in the April-June period, the first quarter of India’s fiscal year.
Financial and real estate services, which are among the biggest component of India’s dominant services sector, shrank 8.1% in Q3 2020 compared to the same period last year, whereas hotels, transport, communication, and trade shrank 15.6%.
Manufacturing rose 0.6%, electricity and gas expanded by 4.4%, and agriculture grew by 3.4%.
The government and the central bank have each worked to support the economy, with total stimulus amounting to around 30 trillion rupees ($405 billion), or 15% of GDP. The Reserve Bank of India also slashed interest rates by 115 basis points this year.
See Also:
