S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday raised India's growth projection for the current financial year to (-)7.7  percent from (-)9  pc estimated earlier on rising demand and falling COVID-19 rates. For the next financial year 2021-22, S&P projected growth to rebound to 10  pc. Its revision in growth forecast for the current fiscal reflects a faster-than-expected recovery in the September quarter. "Rising demand and falling infection rates have tempered our expectation of COVID-19's hit on the Indian economy.

S&P Global Ratings has revised real GDP growth to negative 7.7  pc for the year ending March 2021, from negative 9  pc previously," S&P said in a statement. A faster recovery keeps more of the economy's supply-side intact and can set India up for more prolonged above-average growth during the recovery phase, it added. India's gross domestic product (GDP) fell 7.5  pc in the July-September quarter, against a contraction of 23.9  pc in the April-June quarter.

Earlier this month, Fitch Ratings also revised its growth forecast for India to (-)9.4  pc, from (- )10.5  pc, on signs of economic revival, while the Asian Development Bank said the economy is likely to contract 8  pc as against the earlier forecast of 9  pc contraction, on faster recovery. Last month, Moody's upped India's growth forecast to (-)10.6  pc for the current financial year, from its earlier estimate of (-)11.5  pc. In the statement, S&P on Tuesday said India is learning to live with the virus, even though the coronavirus pandemic is far from defeated. However, the reported cases have fallen by more than half from peak levels, to about 40,000 per day.          

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