INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
India has so far registered 33 cases of the new Omicron variantThe new Omicron variant of COVID-19 may pose a fresh risk to the ongoing
However, preliminary evidence suggests the Omicron variant is expected to be less severe in India with the increasing pace of vaccination,
said the Finance Ministry in its Monthly Economic Report for November 2021.India's economic recovery is expected to gain strength in the
remaining quarters of the financial year on the back of upbeat market sentiments, rapid vaccination coverage, strong external demand, and
continuous policy support by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government, according to the report.The country's real gross domestic
product (GDP) in the second quarter of the current fiscal grew by 8.4 per cent year-on-year, recovering more than 100 per cent of the
pre-pandemic output in the corresponding quarter of the financial year 2019-20
India has not only caught up with its pre-pandemic output of the second quarter but is also expected to do so for the whole year, according
to the finance ministry's report.India is also among the few countries that recorded four consecutive quarters of growth (third and fourth
recovery in manufacturing, and sustained growth in the agriculture sector.On the demand side, exports and investment constituted the macro
drivers rising by 17 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively over their pre-pandemic levels
emerging macro growth driver.On the supply side, while the real gross value added (GVA) in agriculture continued to be higher than its
pre-pandemic level, the manufacturing and construction sectors also surpassed their pre-pandemic levels to emerge as key drivers of
growth.Meanwhile, Delhi logged its second case of Omicron today as a traveller who returned from Zimbabwe tested positive
