India’s Economic Recovery Post-COVID-19: From Negative GDP Growth in 2020 to the World’s 3rd Largest Economy by 2045

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a drastic shock in the economies of many nations, which was followed by production, labor market, trade, and finance shocks. Economic contraction occurred in India during 2020 because of stringent lockdown measures, disruption of supply chains, and slowdown of industry and commerce activities. However, there has been an economic revival in India after the pandemic, and the country will become one of the fastest-growing economies in the coming years. This paper explores India's economic revival after 2020 and the reasons for the same till 2025. The study explores the role of various policies adopted by the Indian government in fostering economic growth, sectoral performance, and digital revolution. Secondary data have been used in the analysis that were obtained from government reports, books by the RBI, World Bank, and IMF reports. Analytical techniques such as GDP growth analysis, trend analysis, and regression-based hypothesis testing are employed to determine the connection between government policy intervention, digital revolution, and economic rejuvenation. It is evident from the results that various policies such as Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, PLI, infrastructure schemes, and digitalization greatly helped India recover its economy. The research shows that there was a significant role played by government interventions, resilience of various sectors, and digital revolution in India’s economic recovery.