India among worst hit major economies globally; local lockdowns added to woes

The Indian Express
Dated September 01, 2020
India’s gross domestic product (GDP), which contracted by 23.9 per cent during the April-June quarter 2020-21, is among the worst in countries severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, an analysis of GDP number across major economies has shown.
While China, which many believe to be the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak, announced a surprise 3.2 per cent growth in its GDP during this quarter compared to the same period last year, others like the UK and Germany witnessed a contraction. For the April-June period, the UK took a 20.4 per cent hit in its GDP, while Germany experienced a “record” 10.1 per cent contraction.
For the UK, the fall in its GDP was reportedly one of the worst in the European region and the country’s second consecutive quarterly decline as its government enforced lockdowns hit services, construction and production.
China’s sharp recovery in the April-June quarter was chiefly due to the country’s success in controlling the coronavirus and policy support, according to a Nikkei report. It had implemented a lockdown in the Hubei province, targeting the city of Wuhan — where cases of the contagious virus first erupted — towards the end of January, at a time when the outbreak from the virus had not been labelled as a pandemic.
The United States, on the other hand, recorded a steeper contraction of 31.7 per cent in its GDP for the April-June quarter compared with the same period last year, making it the sharpest GDP decline in the country’s history.
Italy, which was one of the worst impacted due to the outbreak of Covid-19, saw its April-June GDP contract 12.8 per cent compared with the previous three months and a 17.7 per cent decline with the same quarter last year.
Canada and Japan’s GDP in the April-June quarter shrunk at annualised rates of 38.7 per cent and 27.8 per cent, respectively.
GDP of many major economies have been hit hard due to lockdowns forced by the pandemic, which caused economic activities to come to a grinding halt.
In India, while most factories and industries remained shut throughout April and May, subsequent localised lockdown schedules being announced by states in the wake of the surge in Covid-19 case load added further pressure.

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