Explore Business Standard
Fitch Ratings on Thursday raised India's GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.4 per cent, from 6.9 per cent, on increased consumer spending and improved sentiment boosted by GST reforms. It said falling inflation gives the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) room for one more policy rate cut in December to 5.25 per cent, following 100 bp of cuts in 2025 so far. Fitch said GDP growth accelerated further in the July-September quarter to 8.2 per cent, from 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter. "Growth will ease over the remainder of the financial year 2025-26 (to end-March), but we have raised our full-year growth forecast to 7.4 per cent, from 6.9 per cent in September," Fitch said in its Global Economic Outlook report for December. Private consumer spending is the main driver of growth this year, supported by strong real income dynamics, increased consumer sentiment, and the impact of recently implemented goods and services tax (GST) reforms. Effective September 22, GST on abo
High tariffs imposed by the United States on Indian goods pose a major risk to the country's growth, Crisil Intelligence said in its September report. The tariffs will impact both Indian goods exports and investments, the report added. However, domestic consumption, driven by benign inflation and rate cuts, is expected to support growth, it said. The country's GDP rose to a five-quarter high of 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal 2025-26, up from 7.4 per cent in the similar quarter in the previous year. Nominal GDP growth, however, slowed to 8.8 per cent from 10.8 per cent during the same period, it added. The report said consumer price index (CPI) inflation is likely to soften to 3.5 per cent in the current fiscal from 4.6 per cent in the previous year. Healthy agricultural growth is expected to keep food inflation under check, though the impact of excess rain was yet to be fully assessed. Lower crude prices and benign global commodity prices are expected to contain non
Japan's economy expanded at a stronger rate in the fiscal first quarter than previously estimated, despite worries about US tariffs and domestic political uncertainty, according to government data released Monday. The Cabinet Office said Japan's real gross domestic product, the sum value of a nation's goods and services, grew at a seasonally adjusted 2.2% annualised rate in the April-June quarter from the previous quarter. That was better than the preliminary estimate for 1.0% growth, which came out last month, as solid consumer spending and inventories lifted growth more than previously thought. Quarter-on-quarter, Japan's GDP grew 0.5%, up from the initial estimate for a 0.3% rise, which was also what analysts projected, according to RaboResearch. That marked the fifth straight quarter of growth. The annualised number shows what the growth, or contraction, would have been if the quarterly rate continued for a year. US President Donald Trump's move to raise tariffs on Japanese ..
The Indian economy is expected to grow at 6.7 per cent in April-June period of current fiscal, higher than 6.5 per cent a year ago, on the back of higher government capex and exports, rating agency Icra said on Tuesday. This projection also outpaces the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC's) forecast of 6.5 per cent growth in the June quarter. India's economy grew 7.4 per cent in March quarter of FY25. Official data for FY26 Q1 GDP is scheduled to be released on August 29. Icra Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said investment activity held up in Q1 FY2026 was boosted by the front-loading of government capex. Although, this admittedly came on a low base amidst the heightened uncertainty owing to geopolitical tensions and tariff-related developments. "Benefitting from robust government capital as well as revenue spending, upfronted exports to some geographies and nascent signals of improved consumption, the pace of expansion in economic activity in Q1 FY2026 is estimated at 6.7 per cen
Deloitte India on Tuesday projected India's economic growth at 6.4-6.7 per cent in the current fiscal citing robust domestic fundamentals and expanding global opportunities. It, however, said that India must monitor its trade exposure and be prepared for the outcomes of geopolitical uncertainties Strategic trade negotiations, notably with the UK in May and the ongoing talks with the US, and the highly anticipated deal with the European Union by the end of the year, will likely act as powerful multipliers of income, jobs, market access, and domestic demand. India's economic growth was at 6.5 per cent in 2024-25. Deloitte projects 6.4-6.7 per cent growth for FY 202526, driven by resilient domestic demand, easing inflation, and a bold push in domestic policy and global trade diplomacy, it said in a statement. "India's economic trajectory stands out in a turbulent global landscape. Our momentum is driven by a virtuous trifecta, resilient capital markets, a dynamic consumer base and a
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government led by Narendra Modi refers entrepreneurs as wealth creators as the profit earned by them through ethical ways help drive development goals. "Wealth creation in India has never been a taboo in India. We promoted wealth creation. We would want wealth creation. That is why entrepreneurs in India, under Prime Minister Modi, we refer them as wealth creators. They are not thieves," she said while addressing the National Commemorative Seminar on 60 years of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Integral Humanism Lectures. Pandit Upadhyaya was one of the founding members of Jan Sangh from which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged in April 1980. "We would like to have profit created by genuine ethical practices, and that is what is going to create wealth for the nation. And once you have wealth, you give dignity of labor, you provide for education, you provide for skilling, and you lift the tempo and the spirit of the nation," sh