Hope gross domestic product will be positive in next quarter, says home minister Amit Shah

Ahmedabad: Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said he hopes the GDP will be back to positive territory in the next quarter, after two consecutive quarters of contraction. Prime Minister Narendra Modi worked hard for the economic recovery and had also announced a package after the crisis due to coronavirus, Shah said after inaugurating two road over-bridges in Ahmedabad through virtual mode. “As prime minister, Narendrabhai used the time of COVID-19 pandemic to visualise policy-making, keeping in mind its long-term impact on the economy,” Shah said. Without wasting a second, he worked on reforms in many areas like farm sector, electricity, industrial policy, to create a system to maintain the pace of development, he said. Towards this end, he offered a package of Rs 20 lakh crore for the welfare of poor people andto give pace to the economy, he said. “As a result, in terms of the recent GDP figure, we are only six percent behind… and I hope that in the next quarter, the GDP will be in plus (positive),” Shah said. The gross domestic product (GDP) had contracted by a record 23.9 percent in the first quarter (April-June) of the 2020-21 fiscal as the coronavirus lockdown pummelled economic activity. The country’s economy recovered faster than expected in the July-September quarter as a pick-up in manufacturing helped GDP clock a lower contraction of 7.5 percent, according to official data released recently.