According to the provisional data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), economic growth slowed to an 11-year low of 4.2% in 2019-20. This is the lowest annual growth rate of GDP registered under the new GDP data series which uses 2011-12 as the base year.

Background

• As per the figures, production of eight core infrastructure industries also declined by a record 38.1% in the month of April, while the country's fiscal deficit reached 4.6% of GDP in the financial year 2019-20, which is mainly due to lower revenue.
• The impact of this lockdown is being seen on various economies of the world including India, as economic activities have come to a complete halt.

Major Highlights

• Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) has recorded a negative growth of (-) 2.8% in the financial year 2019-20. GFCF refers to the estimation of net capital expenditure on permanent capital in the government and private sector.
• Real GDP or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at Constant (2011-12) Prices in the year 2019-20 is now estimated to attain a level of ₹ 145.66 lakh crore.
• The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a low of 27.4 in April, from 51.8 in March.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

• It is a measure of economic activity in a country. It is the total value of a country’s annual output of goods and services. It gives the economic output from the consumers’ side.
• GDP = Private consumption + Gross investment + Government investment + Government spending + (exports-imports)
• or GDP = C + I + G + (X - M).