BIG: Moody's revises India's 5.3% GDP growth forecast amid Coronavirus; new figures here

Influential Moody's Investors Service has slashed India's 2020 GDP growth projection from its earlier forecast of 5.3% to 2.5% amid the global Coronavirus pandemic.

“The governments of India (Baa2 negative) and South Africa (Baa3 negative) have announced 21-day lockdowns. We expect these measures to dampen economic growth in both countries this year. For India, we are now projecting growth rates of 2.5% in 2020 followed by 5.8% next year," Moody’s said in its Global Macro Outlook.

It expects the G-20 Economies to experience a shock in the first half of the year, which will have an effect on the rest of the year, before the country will rebound in 2021.

Moody's has also pegged Coronavirus source China's 2020 GDP growth to 3.3% in 2020 and forecasted it to grow at 6% in 2021, backed by consumer demand growth.

The Indian government had earlier projected GDP growth at 5% in 2019-20 as compared to 6.1% in 2018-19. Q3 had witnessed a 4.7% growth.

India has announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore Coronavirus relief package, split between assuring food security and Direct Benefit Transfer cash-transfer as the country observes a 21-day lockdown to combat COVID-19, of which over 700 infections have been confirmed thus far.