Cover Feature he Indian stock mar. Ket Is up, despite the grim macro-economic land scape in. India. The Covid 19 pandemic has severely Impacted the' growth engine of the Indian economy and thereby taken 3 toll on the government's revenue col lection. Gh? growth has continuously ‘declined from & high of 8.3 per cent In FYI? to-4.2 per cent in the last fi cal. The economy Is poised to shrink ‘negatively tn the current year. The already sliding economy has been bludgeoned by a series of lockdowns in the Covidel? crisis AN: an ‘and Vincosnraerts Pc Rerar Pra een aoe reseed rn est) pire Further, Moouy’s downgraded the rating of India after 22 years, which shows I lack of confidence in India's capacity to reform its sys tem, But the Indian stock markets AN are rising — up, up and away, in syne ‘with global markets, The week gone by began with tre. ‘mendous optimism on Indian equity bourses and headlines such as ‘The worst is behind us’ and ‘A bull mar et has begun’ were seen in media everywhere. “Markets soared as the Jey theme revolved around ‘Stocks at Wall Steet Remain Rec-hot” and “We See Investor Sentiment Ticking Up Each Passing Day’. The Indian mar Jet, too, reflected the same optimism with a gradual Increase in stock prices In the Feo ban list, which currently sands at six. This indicates the bulls