Covid "Act Of God", We May See Economy Contract: Nirmala Sitharaman

The coronavirus pandemic has hurt goods and services (GST) collection and the shortfall is Rs. 2.35 lakh crore for fiscal 2021, the government said today. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, after a meeting of the decision-making body for fixing GST policies, said the coronavirus pandemic was "an act of God" and an unforeseen factor that affected GST collections. "...This year we are facing an extraordinary situation. We are facing an act of God where we may even see a contraction," she said.