After Fitch and CRISIL, S&P projects Indian economy to contract 5% in FY21

New cases have been averaging more than 6,000 a day over the past week as authorities begin easing stringent lockdown restrictions gradually to prevent economic costs from blowing out further

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday forecast Indian economy to contract 5 per cent in the current fiscal as the lockdown imposed to contain Covid-19 pandemic has curtailed economic activity severely.

"We have lowered our growth forecast for fiscal year ending March 2021 to a 5 per cent contraction... We currently assume that the outbreak peaks by the third quarter," S&P said in a statement.

Earlier this week rating agencies Fitch and Crisil too had projected a 5 per cent contraction for the Indian economy.

"The Covid-19 outbreak in India and two months of lockdown — longer in some areas —