Economy bouncing back to pre-Covid level: India Inc

Enthused by the 20.1 per cent expansion of the Indian economy in the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal year, India Inc on Tuesday said the number reflects that the economy being hit by the pandemic has bounced back.

Industry chamber CII said it is good to note the impressive bounce-back of the GDP growth despite the adverse impact of the second wave of the pandemic on the economic activity. PHDCCI said meaningful and proactive reforms undertaken by the government in last many quarters has pulled the economy from the lows of the first quarter of 2020-21 and has resulted in the sharp recovery now.

"At this juncture, there is a need to further fuel the drivers of household consumption and private investments to enhance the aggregate demand in the economy as it will have an accelerated effect on expansion of capital investments in the country," PHDCCI President Sanjay Aggarwal said.

Assocham said displaying its inherent resilience against the global pandemic, the Indian economy is reshaping fast into a catch-up mode with the GDP growth of 20.1 per cent in April-June 2021-22. "India is moving fast towards the pre-Covid levels and would be the world's fastest growing economy, though on a base which was pushed low in the same quarter last year when the GDP had nosedived by over 24 per cent. Government needs to be complimented for staying on course, banking on far-reaching reforms and pushing up infrastructure spending," it added.

The Indian economy grew by a record 20.1 per cent in April-June 2021-22 helped by a very weak base of last year and a sharp rebound in the manufacturing and services sectors despite a devastating second wave of Covid-19. The gross domestic product (GDP) had contracted by 24.4 per cent in April-June 2020-21, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Tuesday.