GDP likely to contract 9.5% in FY'21: RBI
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said the economy is likely to contract by 9.5 per cent in the current fiscal. GDP contracted 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of the fiscal, as per the estimates of the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
In a statement after the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said Indian economy is entering into a decisive phase in the fight against coronavirus.
Das also said contraction in economic growth witnessed in the April-June quarter of the fiscal is "behind us" and silver linings are visible, and higlighted the uptick in manufacturing sector, and energy consumption, among others.
According to him, inflation too is likely to ease to the target level in the fourth quarter of 2020-21.
The retail inflation (CPI), which the RBI factors in its monetary policy, has remained above 6 per cent in the recent months. The government has tasked RBI to keep the inflation at 4 per cent, wit a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
The governor said GDP is likely to contract by 9.5 per cent in the fiscal ending March 2021. Das also said growth is likely to pick up in the second half of the fiscal and enter into the positive zone in the January-March quarter.
The spread of coronavirus and resultant lockdown had severely hit the economic activities in the country.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
