Medium-term growth to slow down after initial rebound: Fitch

New Delhi, January 14

The Indian economy will suffer lasting damage from the coronavirus crisis, with growth slowing down after an initial strong rebound next fiscal, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday, forecasting the GDP at well below its pre-pandemic levels even after the crisis has passed.

In a report titled ‘India Set for Slow Medium-Term Recovery’, Fitch said after an initial strong rebound in the fiscal year beginning April 2021, growth will slow to around 6.5% a year over FY23-FY26 (April 2022 to March 2026).

India’s coronavirus-induced recession has been among the most severe in the world, amid a stringent lockdown and limited direct fiscal support, it said.

The Indian economy had been losing momentum even ahead of the shock delivered by the Covid crisis. The rate of GDP growth sank to a more than the 10-year low of 4.2% in 2019, down from 6.1% in the previous year.

The pandemic brought a catastrophe for India, with over 1.5 lakh deaths. Though the deaths per million are significantly lower than in Europe and the US, the economic impact had been much more severe. — PTI