AAP takes a veiled dig over PM Modi's Twitter getting hacked; fires shots over GDP, COVID

Taking a veiled dig at PM Narendra Modi's website being hacked, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) highlighted the dip in GDP and the rise in daily COVID cases and unemployment. The party's official Twitter handle, on Thursday, posted a graphic of 'Hacked' in bold referring to PM Modi's additional Twitter account linked to his personal website, which was hacked on the intervening night of September 2 and 3. 

"Now that we have your attention, we just want to let you know that India's unemployment has hit 45 years high, GDP growth rate is lowest in 40 years and COVID019 cases have hit 83000 in a day which is highest in the world," the graphic's subtext read. 

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India's GDP crashes to -23.9% for Q1

The provisional estimates of GDP were released on Monday for the quarter April-June 2020. The contraction by 23.9% of the Indian economy in April to June quarter (Q1 FY21), marks the first contraction in more than 40 years as COVID-19 pandemic compressed consumer demand and private investments, government data revealed. The National Statistical Office (NSO) said gross value added (GVA) came in at minus 22.8%.

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Overall FY 19-20 GDP stood at 4.2%, hitting an 11-year low. As per market reports, core sectors' growth stood at - Industries at -381%, Services at -20.6%, Manufacturing at -39.3 %, Trade, Hotels at -47. Agriculture has been the only sector to see growth clocking a 3.4% increase, due to rural sector remaining mostly free from lockdown. CRISIL had predicted that India's fourth recession since independence, the first since liberalisation and perhaps the worst to date, is here. 

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COVID-19 crisis in India

India's total active cases currently stand at 8,15,538 while the total tally of cases has reached 38,53,406. The Health Ministry, on Thursday, informed that more than 11 lakh COVID-19 tests have been done in the last 24 hours. Addressing a press briefing on Thursday, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan revealed that the number of recovered cases is now more than 29.70 lakh which is 3.5 times more than active cases. 

READ | COVID-19: '5 States Account For 62% Of Total Active Cases In India', Says Centre

Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra account for 62% of total active Coronavirus cases in the country while Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra account for 70% of total COVID-19 deaths, the Union Health Ministry added.