2.4 INDIA

The Indian economy was adversely impacted due to the nation-wide lockdown imposed towards the end of March 2020 after the outbreak of the pandemic. Even during the phased relaxation of the lockdown, markets opened up slowly. Tier I and II cities were severely affected by the pandemic because of their high population density. Semi-urban and rural markets opened up faster and helped the economy to rebound. The country’s GDP growth was negative for the first time in 40 years, logging –23.9% during the April to June quarter. The government has forecast negative growth to the extent of 7.7% in 2020 to 2021 fiscal year.