gross domestic product in the year to March 2022 grew 8.7% from a year ago, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
That’s slower than the 8.9% expansion projected by the Statistics Ministry three months ago. In the January-March quarter, the economy likely expanded 3.9%, according to the survey, a performance that will mark the low point of the year.
The pace of growth eased amid the surge in omicron infections and temporary activity restrictions, said Rahul Bajoria, chief India economist for Barclays Plc. “While the movement restrictions were short-lived, other headwinds from global supply shortages and higher input costs also impeded the pace of expansion." Asia’s third largest economy had just begun recovering from the pandemic-induced slump when a surge in Omicron cases in January brought back some of the virus-related restrictions.
The war in Ukraine, in February, further added to its woes, pushing up commodity prices and squeezing supplies further. Earlier this month, elevated prices forced India’s central bank to hike rates by 40 basis-points in an off-cycle meeting.