India in historic technical recession, RBI signals in first ever nowcast

"India has entered a technical recession in the first half of 2020-21 for the first time in its history," the authors wrote. The government is due to publish official statistics Nov. 27

India’s economy probably shrank for a second straight quarter, according to a team of economists including Michael Patra, the central bank’s deputy governor in charge of monetary policy, pushing the country into an unprecedented recession.

Gross domestic product contracted 8.6% in the quarter ended September, the Reserve Bank of India showed in its first ever published ‘nowcast,’ which is an estimate based on high-frequency data. The economy had slumped about 24% in April to June.

“India has entered a technical recession in the first half of 2020-21 for the first time in its history,” the authors wrote. The government is