India’s GDP growth sinks to 11-year low

New Delhi, May 29: India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.1 per cent in January-March, official data showed on Friday, reflecting the partial impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the manufacturing and services sectors. That was much better than economists’ estimates, but still lower than 4.1 per cent in the previous quarter. The annual expansion in the GDP stood at 4.2 per cent in fiscal year 2019-20 – the lowest pace of growth in 11 years, as against a previously projected 5 per cent. The official rate of GDP expansion comes days after the country entered a third month of lockdown with few exceptions to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hampered an already-slowing economy and forced many businesses to trim their operations leading to thousands of job losses.