At the end of the five hour-long meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council on August 27, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared, 'This year we are facing an extraordinary situation... We are facing an act of God.'
Sitharaman was referring to COVID-induced disruptions in the economy, which was already in free fall even before the coronovirus struck India.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday criticised Sitharaman over her 'Act of God' remark, asking will 'the FM as the Messenger of God' answer how the 'mismanagement' of the economy before the pandemic should be described.
As per the estimates by Care Ratings, India's GDP is likely to contract by 20 per cent during the first quarter of the current fiscal.
The upward trajectory of the number of coronvirus infections in the country continues unabated with India passing the 3.5 million figure with a single-day spike of 78,761 cases on Sunday, according to the Union health ministry.
India has registered over 70,000 cases for the last four days even as the central government unveils Unlock 4.0.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the dismal state of the economy and the terrifying rise in COVID-19 infections with each passing day.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
