In an interview that paints a stark and dramatic picture of the damage the coronavirus health scare will do to the economy – and is the first wake up call in this regard – professor Jayati Ghosh of Jawaharlal Nehru University says more damage has already after been done to the economy in two days of lockdown than by demonetisation since it happened in November 2016. She says growth in March is already negative and the economy will shrink over the next three months.
In a comprehensive talk to Karan Thapar for The Wire, recorded a few hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to address the nation for the second time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prof. Ghosh says growth for the last quarter of the year ending March 31, 2020 is likely to be negative.
