Moody’s cuts India development forecast for 2021 to 9.6%

Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday slashed India’s development projection to 9.6 per cent for 2021 calendar yr, from its earlier estimate of 13.9 per cent, and stated quicker vaccination progress might be paramount in proscribing financial losses to June quarter
In its report titled ‘Macroeconomics India: Economic shocks from second COVID wave will not be as severe as last year’s’, Moody’s stated high-frequency financial indicators present that the second wave of COVID-19 infections hit India’s financial system in April and May. With states now easing restrictions, financial exercise in May is prone to signify the trough.
“The virus resurgence adds uncertainty to India’s growth forecast for 2021; however, it is likely that the economic damage will remain restricted to the April-June quarter. We currently expect India’s real GDP to grow at 9.6 per cent in 2021 and 7 per cent in 2022,” Moody’s stated.
Earlier this month, Moody’s had projected India to clock a 9.3 per cent development within the present fiscal ending March 2022, however a extreme second COVID wave has elevated dangers to India’s credit score profile and rated entities.

Indian financial system contracted by 7.3 per cent in fiscal 2020-21 because the nation battled the primary wave of COVID, as towards a 4 per cent development in 2019-20.
Stating that stringent lockdowns in economically important states will mar April-June quarter financial exercise, Moody’s stated the ten states which have been hardest hit by the second wave collectively account for greater than 60 per cent of the pre-pandemic degree of India’s GDP.
Four states – Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka – contributed the most important shares amongst all states in monetary yr 2019-20.
Moody’s stated quicker vaccination progress might be paramount in proscribing financial losses to the present quarter. As of the third week in June, solely about 16 per cent of the inhabitants had acquired one vaccine dose; of these, solely about 3.6 per cent had been totally vaccinated.
“Mobility and economic activity will likely accelerate in the second half of the year as the pace of vaccinations pick up. The government recently announced a strategy to centralise vaccine procurement in order to boost vaccinations, which if successful, will support the economic recovery,” it added.
Moody’s expects the general hit to India’s financial system to be softer than that through the first wave final yr. However, the tempo of restoration might be decided by entry to and supply of vaccines, and the energy of the restoration in personal consumption, which could possibly be hampered by the deterioration of stability sheets of low- and middle-income households from job, earnings and wealth losses.
India’s second wave peaked at first of May; since then, new circumstances and each day deaths have continued to fall, and the quantity of people that have recovered from the virus has exceeded the variety of new infections since mid-May.

India’s whole tally of COVID-19 circumstances crossed the three-crore mark with 50,848 new circumstances reported in 24 hours. The demise toll climbed to three,90,660 with 1,358 recent fatalities.
“We assess the overall economic effect of the second wave to be softer than that during the first wave of the pandemic last year, although delivery of and access to vaccines will determine the durability of the recovery,” Moody’s added.