'COVID-19 Outbreak Will Hit Indian Economy, Impact Can Only be Assessed After the Pandemic is Over': CEA K Subramanian

New Delhi, March 18: Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) K Subramanian on Wednesday said that COVID-19 outbreak will hit the Indian economy and the impact can only be assessed after the pandemic is over. "Share markets in several countries including the USA, Brazil, Argentina, and Japan have crashed. There is uncertainty across the world due to coronavirus. Whenever there is uncertainty, an atmosphere of fear comes in share markets, which will result in ups and downs," Subramanian told ANI.

"We have to monitor the situation. According to my estimation, it should go down till April. The first case of coronavirus was reported on January 22. In other countries, COVID-19 cases increased exponentially," he said. The Chief Economic Advisor added: "There is no doubt it will have an impact on the economy. People have stopped going to restaurants and malls. The impact can be assessed after this is over. There will be uncertainty in stock markets so long as there is uncertainty due to coronavirus." Global Oil Prices Plunge to 17-Year-Low at $25.08 Per Barrel Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Experts See Worldwide Recession Soon. 

Subramanian said that global investors should learn from this and diversify their investments. "They should not put all investments in one place," he said. Commenting on oil prices which have gone down recently, he said: "Prices of crude oil have gone down in dollars. But the value of rupees has weakened against dollars. Some benefits are passed on to customers and some benefit goes to the government to manage its fiscal."