Will this be India's worst recession due to coronavirus?

May 31, 2020 11:47 IST

India's economy is set to lose 10% of its GDP permanently due to the effects of coronavirus. In many parts of India, lockdown 4.0 is set to be extended to lockdown 5. India's economic recovery is going to be determined by how economic zones will be reopened, most of which are red zones. D K Joshi, Chief Economist, CRISIL, says that previous recessions were primarily agriculture driven. This will be the first recession that is driven by non-agricultural sectors. As we keep extending lockdowns, it has a non-linear effect and all buffers for the economy keep eroding causing massive losses in economic activities. Containment measures have gone on longer than we have expected and the economic package that government announced is less than what we had assumed. Together, it has led to a sharp revision of estimated GDP. Watch BOOM's Govindraj Ethiraj interview D K Joshi on the economic cost of the coronavirus lockdown and future outlook as well as required policy response for the Indian economy.