Indian Economy To Contract 5% In FY21: Fitch Ratings

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday forecast the Indian economy to contract 5 per cent in the current fiscal on account of slump in economic activities following a "very severe" lockdown that has lasted much longer than expected. The forecast of 5 per cent contraction is sharp decline from 0.8 per cent growth projected by the global rating agency in late April. The sharp cut in India forecast was necessitated due to slump in economic activities and very stringent lockdown policy, the rating agency said. Fitch said world GDP is forecast to fall by 4.6% in 2020 as compared to a decline of 3.9% predicted in late April. Fitch expects output in emerging markets, excluding China, to fall by 4.5% this year as against the earlier predicted fall of 1.9%