Economic 'Long Covid': India better, but it's on the same planet as others

In a difficult pandemic-hit period, India may be doing better than almost all other large economies, but the over-arching goal of rapid economic growth just does not show on the map, notes T N Ninan

Economic growth in the April-June quarter has turned out to be short of almost all forecasts, both official and private. The private forecasters have now lowered their expectations for the full year’s growth to less than 7 per cent, something that the government seems reluctant to do. Where the figure finally settles will be determined by growth in the coming quarters — forecast modestly by the Reserve Bank as averaging between 4 and 5 per cent. And growth in the year that follows (2023-24) is expected to be around 6 per cent.
 
Such unflattering numbers hark back to the