Covid-19 pandemic: Worst seems over, economy recovering, says govt

India is well on the path to recovery from a trough in April, supported by proactive government and central bank policies, a finance ministry report said, but cautioned that the increase in Covid-19 cases and subsequent intermittent lockdowns make the recovery prospects fragile and call for constant and dynamic monitoring. 'With India unlocking, the worst seems to be over as high-frequency indicators show an improvement from the unprecedented trough the economy had hit in April 2020,' according to the monthly report from the department of economic affairs. These high frequency indicators include the index of industrial production (IIP), purchasing managers’ index (PMI), power generation, production of steel & cement, railway freight, traffic at major ports, air cargo & passenger traffic, e-way bill generation capturing inter-state movement of goods, consumption of petroleum products and motor vehicle registration. The Indian economy has been hit hard by the impact of the coronavirus and most forecasts say that it is expected to face a sharp contraction in the current fiscal year due to the impact of the lockdown.