Statsguru: Economy was in grips of a slowdown even before Covid-19 hit

India’s economy grew at a paltry 3.1 per cent in the quarter ended March 2020, the lowest in 44 quarters. One thing that makes this gradual slowdown more serious than the ones experienced before is that it came without any external shock. Also, the data shows the slump has covered all the sectors.

Manufacturing is weakening, as is the job-generating construction sector (chart 1). 

Agriculture and public spending are the only green shoots of the economy, and the concentration of the slowdown in the core economy is becoming sharper (chart 2). Core GVA is the gross value added in the