Page 9 - India Economy

India's economic outlook for next fiscal positive, says finance ministry

The finance ministry on Friday said with an uptick in private investment and inflation trending down, India's outlook for the next fiscal looks positive. The Monthly Economic Review also said that inclusion of Indian bonds in Bloomberg bond index from January 2025 should bolster inflows. It said robust investment activity is driving growth amid a steady rise in consumption. "The continued focus on public investment seems to have crowded in private investment," said the February edition of the review by Department of Economic Affairs. The National Statistical Office (NSO) has revised upwards the GDP growth estimate for current fiscal to 7.6 per cent from 7.3 per cent. India grew above 8 per cent for three consecutive quarters, reaffirming its position as a standout performer amid sluggish global growth trends. Various agencies echo a similar sentiment revising the FY24 growth estimates of India closer to 8 per cent, the ministry said. "On the whole, India looks positively toward

India will become third top economy in few years, says FM Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said India currently needs economic freedom to achieve developed nation status by 2047 and assured that the country would move to the third spot in world economy from the current fifth position in the near future. Criticising those who compared India with China, Sitharaman said that certain things could not be replicated from them. "India should attain self sufficiency on economic matters. It should become an economic power. The country has come from 10th position to 5th in global rankings and a few years down the line we will achieve the third spot", Sitharaman said, after unveiling a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Shrimati Indira Gandhi College here. Appealing to the students gathered at the venue to contribute to the progress of the nation, she said, "It is through the efforts of students like you that our country will become a developed nation by 2047." Referring to people talking about how China has progressed and comparisons wi

FY24 GDP growth to be closer to 8% on higher activity in industry: CEA

India's real GDP growth in FY24 will be "closer" to 8 per cent on higher activity in industry and services verticals, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said on Tuesday. Addressing a conference organised by ARIA (Association of Registered Investment Advisors) virtually, Nageswaran said the growth will be higher than the Ministry of Statistics' estimate of 7.6 per cent, and added that there is much reason to be optimistic in the near term about the prospects in India. "...unless the Q4 GDP numbers fall very significantly from the momentum that we have seen in the first three quarters, the GDP will be closer to 8 per cent rather than 7.6 per cent as the Ministry of Statistics is currently estimating," Nageswaran said. However, he stressed on the need to put heads down and work towards the goal without "succumbing to triumphalism and exuberance". "As a country, we should realize that we are in it for the longer haul, not for the short term," he said, adding that the ...

Nation first policy helped manage oil prices despite global conflicts: Puri

The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas said 85 per cent of India's crude requirements are met by imports, with the price of crude in the international market being the benchmark

Valley breathing freely and tourism flourishing: PM Modi in Kashmir

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said while he has a roadmap for the development of the country for the next 25 years, the opposition only has "anger and abuses" to offer and no solutions. Addressing a conclave organised by Republic TV, Modi highlighted the speed and scale of the work done by his government so far and said in the last 75 days, he has laid the foundation stone or dedicated to the nation projects worth Rs 9 lakh crore. "I have a roadmap for the development of the country for the next 25 years. But on the other side (opposition), there is only anger, abuses and disappointment. They neither have any issue to raise nor any solution to offer," the prime minister said. Modi said this decade is for strengthening the foundation of a capable and a developed India. This decade will be of India's high-speed connectivity, high-speed mobility and high-speed prosperity, he said. He said people of the country are "seeing and feeling" the scale and speed of his government's

India's surprise GDP driven by more than just one-off factors, says CEA

The surprise 8.4% surge in gross domestic product was largely due to base effects related to subsidies, which boosted the net indirect tax category, CEA V Anantha Nageswaran said

Needs to sustain growth to hit bottom echelons of developed country: Sanyal

Economist Sanjeev Sanyal on Wednesday said India needs to sustain the current growth momentum to reach the "bottom echelons" of being considered a developed world by 2047. Sanyal, a full-time member of the Economic Advisory Council, suggested that developing fast is imperative because by 2047, India would have aged and be in the same place as China is right now. "We still remain a very poor country. So, we have to sustain this performance for 25 years. Only then are we going to get to the bottom echelons of being a developed country in 2047 when we will be 100 years of freedom," Sanyal said while addressing the India Global Forum here. He said this is a window of opportunity before the country, and we ought to make it work by remaining focused on economic growth and not getting distracted by other things. Sanyal said it is essential that we continue to undertake reforms to realise the growth potential and listed out some essential priorities. He said the judicial side requires a l

'India targets 5-fold increase in share of global space economy by 2030'

Union minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said the Centre has set the target of increasing the share of the Indian space sector five-fold by 2030 - from the current 2 per cent to 10 per cent. Singh, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, made the statement after inaugurating "IN-SPACe Technical Centre' at the headquarters of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) in Bopal area of Ahmedabad city. Addressing a gathering after the inauguration, he said there was a time when the world did not take India very seriously in the space sector, while it is the other way round now. "Our target is to take the space economy from 2 per cent to 10 per cent by 2030, a five-fold increase. And as per our vision document, we have mentioned 15 per cent by 2047. That is 15 per cent share in the global space economy," he said. "India's space economy today stands at a modest USD 8 billion, but our own projection is that by 2040 it .

Dysfunctional environmental clearance system should be shut down: Narain

India's system for granting environmental clearances is badly broken and should be completely shut down to dispel any illusions about their effectiveness, eminent environmentalist Sunita Narain has said. In an interview with PTI, Narain -- the director general of independent think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) -- suggested that the government overhaul the system to strike a balance between environmental preservation and development. Expressing concern over the decriminalisation of environmental laws in India, Narain said the current system for granting environmental and forest clearances, and penalising polluters is "so broken that it should be completely shut down so that we have no illusion of anything that is not working". Regarding environmental impact assessments, Narain pointed out the lack of accountability of committees granting clearances. "The panel lays down hundreds of conditions so that it is not held to account but there is no way to know if the ...

Best of BS Opinion: Sustained momentum, BJP's manifesto on defence & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Fiscal deficit at Jan-end touches 63.6% of full year target: Govt data

In the corresponding period last year, the fiscal deficit or gap between the expenditure and revenue was 67.8 per cent of Revised Estimates (RE) of the Union Budget 2022-23

India's growth, fast delivery new normal for world: PM at global summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the world no longer feels surprised at India's achievements as it has become a new normal now and they today realise the benefit of walking alongside the country. Earlier the world used to be surprised to see India has done something but it is no longer so and it has become a new normal for the world, Modi said at a global summit organised here by the TV9 News Network. "Growing trust in India has become the biggest recognition for India," he said. Modi also hit out at previous governments, saying those in power till 10 years ago did not have any faith in India's capabilities. It is very difficult to get victory with a mind that has accepted defeat, he added. "They were the people who called Indians lazy. If there is hopelessness in those in power, how can they inspire hope among the people," Modi said. "We have brought the country out of that era of hopelessness," the prime minister said. Now, decisions are taken fast and those decision

Real GDP growth likely expanded by 7% in December quarter: Report

The country's real GDP growth for the December quarter is all set to come at a higher-than-anticipated 7 per cent, a German brokerage said on Monday. "We are forecasting October-December 2023 real GDP to have grown 7.0 per cent year-on-year during the quarter, which is higher than what we had previously anticipated," analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note. The official data on quarterly growth will be released on February 29. In the three months ended September 2023, the economy had clocked a 7.6 per cent growth. The German brokerage said its estimate is based on a proprietary index of five high-frequency indicators, including industrial production, exports, non-oil-non-gold imports, bank credit and consumer goods. It said that another indicator comprising nearly 65 high-frequency indicators is also pointing towards 7 per cent growth for the December quarter. "The Indian economy has exhibited remarkable resilience despite the Russia-Ukraine war of last year and Covid prior to th

Best of BS Opinion: The Nato conundrum, recalibrating spend, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

German economy in 'troubled waters', govt cuts its growth forecast

The German government said Europe's largest economy was in troubled waters and slashed its growth forecast for this year as it struggles with a lack of skilled labour, excessive bureaucracy, high interest rates and lagging investment in new projects while a relatively modest set of tax breaks for business remains blocked in the legislature. The growth forecast was lowered to 0.2% from the previous forecast from last fall of 1.3%. That would follow a shrinking of the economy by 0.3% for all of last year. Germany is recovering more slowly than we hoped from the shock of Russia cutting off most supplies of natural gas after its invasion of Ukraine, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said as he presented the government's annual economic report. The economy is in troubled waters. The loss of Russian gas in Germany led to a spike in energy costs that hammered energy intensive industries and contributed to high consumer inflation that eroded purchasing power and made consumers more reluctant t

GDP growth to moderate sequentially to 6% in Q3 FY2024, projects ICRA

Rating agency ICRA on Wednesday projected GDP growth to moderate sequentially to 6 per cent in the third quarter of FY24 from 7.6 per cent in the preceding three months mainly due to subdued performance of agriculture and industrial sectors. Further, it said the GVA (Gross Value Added) growth is estimated to ease to 6 per cent in the October-December quarter FY24 from 7.4 per cent in the second quarter of the last fiscal. The anticipated deterioration in the industrial sector growth in the third quarter is partly attributable to an adverse base effect and a deceleration in volume expansion, even as the continued deflation in commodity prices kept the profitability of some sectors favourable. Additionally, a mild 0.2 per cent contraction in the total spending of the government of India and the 25 state governments (all states except Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, and Manipur) in the October-December period is expected to have dulled the GVA growth in the quarter. "Lower volume growth for t

Govt must focus on exports to reach 10% economic growth: Finance Commission

India must focus on exports to achieve 10 per cent economic growth, Arvind Panagariya, Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, has said. Paragariya also said that the temptation of import-substituting industrial policy is not unique to India. "I have looked at successful countries such as...Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, China, and India - these are the...high-growth examples. "My conclusion is very clear - countries that have been open are the ones that have grown rapidly," he said in an interaction with 'Foundation For Economic Development'. He added that the intellectual support for industrial policy and import substitution remains strong in India. Panagariya also explained how the global export market was worth USD 32 trillion in 2022, almost ten times India's GDP. He pointed out that China acquired a very large share of certain products which gave the country a huge boost. "For 3-4 decades, it grew at 10 per cent a year," the economist said.

'US-India alliance for women's economic empowerment being revitalised'

An alliance between the US and India that seeks to facilitate women's economic participation in India by catalysing commitments from private sector, civil society and government leaders in both countries is being revitalised, a senior US diplomat said on Tuesday. The US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment will work across the board to harness the resources of the private sector and NGOs to foster commitments for women's retention, and stem employment and entrepreneurship, Deputy Chief of Mission in India Patricia A Lacina said. She was delivering the keynote address at the WEConnect International Empowering Inclusion-Advancing Value Chains Summit 2024. "...we are revitalising the US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment. A public-private partnership to enhance mentorship," she said. Last year, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), the US Department of State, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the George Washington University .

Economic outlook appears bright, 7% GDP growth expected in FY25: FinMin

The outlook for the Indian economy appears 'bright' with GDP likely to clock 7 per cent growth rate next fiscal although the nation needs to keep a watch on global headwinds emanating from geopolitical tensions and volatility in international financial markets, a finance ministry report said on Tuesday. During the current financial year, the Indian economy is estimated to grow at 7.3 per cent. This would be the third year in the row when the GDP would grow in excess of 7 per cent. Driven by a better-than-expected performance in Q2 and above 7 per cent growth projection for FY24 (by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in its first advance estimates), many global agencies have revised India's growth projection in the upward direction, the Monthly Economic Review released by the finance ministry said. This reflects the resilience of the Indian economy to sustain its growth path amidst ongoing geopolitical headwinds, it said, adding, the measures announced in the Interim

Govt cuts import duty on turkeys; exempts extra long staple cotton from tax

The government has fully exempted customs duty on import of extra long staple cotton, and has cut duties on specified varieties of imported blueberries, cranberries and frozen turkeys. In a notification, the Finance Ministry has slashed import duty on certain items of blueberries and cranberries from 30 per cent to 10 per cent in some cases and 5 per cent in other cases. Similarly, import duty pertaining to meat and edible offal of turkeys, were also reduced from 30 per cent to 5 per cent effective Tuesday. According to officials, the duty rate changes on frozen turkey, specified cranberries and blueberries and their processed products is to implement the recommendation of the Department of Commerce following a mutually agreed solution between India and the US. Nangia Andersen India Associate Director- Indirect Tax, Khushbu Trivedi, said, in pursuance of the bilateral agreement that took place in the recent G20 Leaders' Summit between India and USA intended at addressing the past .