Covid 3rd wave may pull GDP growth down to 7 pc: economist Abhijit Banerjee

TIL Desk/Business/Kolkata/ Nobel laureate economist Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee on Thursday apprehended that the impending third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic might adversely impact the GDP, and its growth rate might go down to 7 per cent, even below the IMF’s recent projection of 9.5 per cent.

Banerjee, who heads West Bengal’s Global Advisory Board (GAB) and advises the state government on issues related to the pandemic, said that boosting the state’s economy is directly related to the revival of the country’s economy as it is under stress due to the ongoing pandemic situation.

“The economy is going slow due to the COVID situation. Earlier the IMF had said GDP growth would be 12.5 per cent. Now it is saying it would be 9.5 per cent. I apprehend it might go down to 7 per cent. Another wave will decrease it further. If the country’s economy does not improve, the state will not be able to move forward alone,” he said.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its economic growth forecast for India to 9.5 per cent for the fiscal year to March 31, 2022, as the onset of a severe second COVID-19 wave cut into recovery momentum.