NEW DELHI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- With the total number of COVID-19 cases across India falling to below 50,000 mark and new cases per day hovering below 5,000 and deaths per day around 100, the country is almost on the verge of defeating the virus after battling it for over two years.
As many as three COVID-19 waves battered the Indian economy one after the other, leaving behind a gory tale of unemployment and economic tardiness, with demand-supply chains being adversely affected as the manufacturing sector remained badly hit at frequent intervals for over 24 months.
However, recent official data showed that the country's economy is once again beginning to be back on track in an attempt to reach the pre-COVID levels.
GDP growth during the financial year 2021-22 is estimated at 8.9 percent, as against a contraction of 6.6 percent in 2020-21.
Addressing a webinar "Financing for Growth & Aspirational Economy" on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Indian economy is once again picking up momentum after once-in-a-century pandemic and this is a reflection of our economic decisions and strong foundation of economy."
He said that his government had taken many steps to maintain the momentum of high growth in this year's budget.
"By encouraging foreign capital flows, reducing tax on infrastructure investment, etc., we have tried to accelerate financial and economic growth," said Modi at the webinar.
India's gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 5.4 percent during the third quarter (October-December 2021) of the current financial year 2021-2022, showed the official data.
In value terms, India's GDP stood at over 38 trillion Indian Rupees (496 billion U.S. dollars) in October-December 2021, higher than 36 trillion Indian Rupees (470 billion dollars) in the corresponding period of 2020.
Exports, too, appear to be moving northward. Exports of electronic goods rose to 12.4 billion dollars in 2021-22 (during April-January), with mobile phones, IT hardware (laptops, tablets), consumer electronics (TV and audio), industrial electronics and auto electronics being the key exports in this sector, announced the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Feb. 28.
The National Statistical Office in its second advance estimates of national accounts released on Feb. 28 had pegged the country's growth for 2021-22 at 8.9 percent. ■