19 June,2020 09:17 AM IST | New Delhi | Agencies
Migrants wait to board a train to Bihar from MGR central railway station, in Chennai. Pic /AFP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said business activity in India is fast returning to normal levels with consumption and demand fast approaching pre-COVID levels as visible in macro data on power, fuel and other consumption. India faced a recession-like scenario after a national lockdown was imposed on March 25 to curb the spread of Coronavirus.
The lockdown, which continued in various phases into June, albeit with significant easing of restrictions, resulted in the severe disruption of industrial production and consumer spending, with GDP growth forecast to contract sharply. With the easing of lockdown conditions, business activity was fast returning to normal levels, Modi said.
Speaking at the launch of commercial coal mining, he said "consumption and demand are fast approaching pre-COVID levels". He cited spurt in power generation and consumption as well as demand for petroleum products during the last week of May and first week of June to buttress his point. E-way bills have seen about 200 per cent rise when compared with April.
Also, road and highway toll collection in June has reached 70 per cent of the pre-COVID levels of February, while railway freight tariff in May has seen an improvement of 26 per cent over April. Digital transactions too have witnessed a rise in both volume and value terms.
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