India’s economy shrinks by a quarter as covid-19 gathers pace
The record-breaking contraction comes at the same time as record numbers of new infections
THE STATISTICS landed like fists in a one-two punch. First came the news that India had counted 78,000 new cases of covid-19 on August 30th alone—more than any other country has tallied in a single day since the pandemic began. The next day came the bill for the two-month lockdown that the government imposed in late March at only four hours’ notice. The National Statistical Office said that India’s output between April and June was 23.9% lower than in the same period the year before.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Double whammy”
Asia
September 5th 2020
From the September 5th 2020 edition
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