Goldman Sees Recession in India as Consumption Takes Severe Hit

India’s economy will likely contract in the first two quarters of the year as consumption plunges during a three-week lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Gross domestic product is forecast to shrink an annualized 1.4% on a quarter-on-quarter basis in the first three months of the year and 3.8% in the second quarter, Goldman economists Prachi Mishra and Andrew Tilton wrote in a report. That will bring down growth in the fiscal year through March 2021 to 1.6% versus a previous estimate of 3.3%, they said.