NEW DELHI
India's gross domestic product or GDP contracted by 23.9 per cent in the April-June period, official data showed on Monday, as the coronavirus pandemic-induced disruptions hurt businesses and livelihoods despite monetary and fiscal support of Rs 21 lakh crore.
That marked the worst decline in the economy since 1996 when India began publishing quarterly figures, and the worst among major Asian economies.
Economists, analysts and investors had keenly awaited the reading as data fully captures the impact of the coronavirus crisis on economic and business activity.
The data comes as the government is strategically removing restrictions imposed in March to curb Covid-19 infections, which have caused thousands of job losses and forced the majority of workforce to stay indoors, leading to a big blow to an already-slowing economy.
Monday's data marks the likely onset of India's deepest recession on record, which is widely expected to run through the second half of the fiscal year, as the rapid spread of the pandemic continues to weigh on demand, hindering a pickup in economic activity. Typically, recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of decreasing GDP.
Economists in a poll by a news agency had expected contraction in the June quarter to be in the range of 15-25.9 per cent, with a median estimate of 19.2 per cent.
