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Updated February 26th, 2021 at 22:57 IST

'Faultlines more visible than ever': Congress concerned as India's GDP grows at 0.4% in Q3

Despite India's GDP expanding by 0.4% in the third quarter of 2020-21, Congress claimed that the faultlines in the economy are visible more than ever before.

Reported by: Akhil Oka
Congress
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Despite India's GDP expanding by 0.4% in the third quarter of 2020-21, Congress on Friday claimed that the faultlines in the economy are visible more than ever before. Maintaining that the recovery is far below expectations, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala expressed concern that the GDP growth rate for 2020-21 has been lowered from -8% to -7.7%. He reiterated the charge that the "ill-planned" lockdown had taken a huge toll on the economy, which was already impacted by demonetisation and the ill-conceived GST. 

Frowning upon the "irrational exuberance" in the country's stock markets, he accused the Modi government of turning a blind eye towards the woes in the informal sector. Moreover, Surjewala urged the Centre to accept the demand of protesting farmers and roll back the agrarian laws in wake of the agriculture sector registering a positive growth for the second quarter in a row. He also warned that the RBI might be forced to raise interest rates owing to the rising inflation leading to a reduction of demand in the economy. Thereafter, he held the Union government responsible for the double whammy of low growth and high inflation.

Read: FM Sitharaman Chairs Key Meet; Focus On Faster Post Covid-19 Recovery, NIP

Here are some specific concerns raised by Congress:

  • The estimates for Quarter 1 GDP have been revised lower to -24.4% from the previously reported contraction of -23.9%
  • The Services sector slumps to -7.7%. Thus, the trade, hospitality and communication sector may not see recovery anytime soon
  • The rising Non-Performing Assets of Non-Banking Financial Companies
  • The Centre's Final Consumption Expenditure in the third quarter is lower than the amount spent in the same quarter last year

Read: India Resiliently Fought Back COVID-19 Pandemic; Economy, Life On Path To Normalcy: SC

Promising GDP estimates

The data released by the National Statistical Office on Friday effectively implies that the country's economy is back on track in the wake of low novel coronavirus cases and increased economic activity. This makes India one of the only major economies in the world to post growth in the last quarter of 2020. This development also assumes significance as India has come out of a technical recession.

During the April-June quarter of 2020-21, the GDP crashed by 23.9% which was attributed to the fact that the country was among the economies worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by the contraction of GDP by 7.5% in the second quarter (July-September). As the GDP contracted for two continuous quarters, the country plunged into a technical recession. The release of the GDP estimates for the fourth quarter of 2020-21 (January-March) shall be on May 31, 2021.

Read: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Urges Industry To Unleash Animal Spirits; Make India Fastest Growing Economy

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Published February 26th, 2021 at 22:57 IST

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