World Bank ups FY21 GDP contraction forecast for India to 9.6%

Says Indian economy could fare thrice as poorly as projected earlier in the wake of coronavirus-induced lockdowns and a decline in household income

The World Bank has trebled its projection of contraction in India’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020-21 — from 3.2 per cent earlier to 9.6 per cent — especially in the wake of lockdowns and a decline in household income.

While it saw half the households in the country as vulnerable to shocks, it said the government’s recent reforms as part of its safety net programmes should help preserve its gains against poverty.

The projection, in the World Bank’s “South Asia Economic Focus”, released on Thursday, is more or less in line with what other economists have said but a