India's economy recovered faster than expected in the September quarter as a pick-up in manufacturing helped GDP clock a lower contraction of 7.5 per cent and held out hopes for further improvement on consumer demand bouncing back. The gross domestic product (GDP) had conacted by a record 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2020-21 fiscal (April 2020 to March 2021) as the coronavirus lockdown pummelled economic activity.

The second straight quarter of contraction pushed India to its first technical recession. However, Vice-Chairman Niti Aayog Rajeev Kumar spoke to India Today in an exclusive interview and said this is not a technical recession for India.