(ET)
A perusal of the Union Ministry of Finance’s monthly macroeconomic report for June 2020 makes it clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a severe impact, adding to the miseries of the previous fiscal. While the report cites the IMF to predict a 4.5 per cent contraction in India’s GDP in FY21 and notes that government revenues have been hit hard, it also notes that there are green shoots in a few activities.
These are power and petroleum consumption, highway transport activity, and retail financial transactions. According to the report,electricity consumption saw lower contraction in growth rates — from (-)24 per cent in April to (-) 15.2 per cent in May to (-) 11.3 per cent in June (till June 28).
Total assessable value of E-Way bills rose 130 per cent in May 2020 (Rs 8.98 lakh crore) compared to April 2020 (Rs 3.9 lakh crore), though still below pre-lockdown levels. The value of E-Way bills generated between June 1 and 28 stood at Rs 11.4 lakh crore.
