Indian economy robust but full recovery will require victory over COVID: Arvind Panagariya

A GDP contraction of 23.9 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal may be a cause for concern for the economists, but former NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya is of the view that the dip in growth is almost entirely due to the lockdown restrictions and is not a testimony to the fundamental weakness in the economy.

Further, Panagariya feels that there are excellent prospects of India returning to 7 percent plus growth once the COVID threat has been eliminated.

Meanwhile, even as the government takes more measures to open up more and more sectors in a bid to revive the economy, it has announced customs norms in a bid to crack the whip on importers who have been using free trade agreements as a shield to avoid paying customs duty. Starting from the 21st of September, the customs department would be closely monitoring imports from nations with whom India has an FTA.