Indian economy on course to achieve 8-8.5% growth, says Finance Ministry
The Indian economy is on course to achieve projected 8-8.5 per cent growth based on high-frequency indicators for the first quarter of the FY 2022-23, the Finance Ministry said on 19 July.
Earlier on 31 January, the Economic Survey tabled in the Parliament projected the real GDP during 2022-23 to grow at 8.0-8.5 per cent.
several High Frequency Indicators (HFIs), indicating that the projected growth path is on course in the first quarter of FY 2022-23,” minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.
In its April 2022 update of World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected India’s real GDP growth at 8.2 per cent in 2022-23.
Choudhary added that the the government has taken several steps to address high inflation imported from abroad. These include cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel and special excise duty/cess on the export of petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel that are likely to alleviate inflationary pressures.
Apart from this, the minister added that the RBI in its June Monetary Policy Committee meeting hiked the repo rate by 50 basis points, on top of the earlier hike of 40 basis points in May 2022 to rein in inflation.
On the issue of impact of geopolitical tension on Indian economy, he said, Russia-Ukraine war has led to global supply disruptions resulting in steep increase in global commodity prices, including prices of crude oil, gas, edible oils and fertilizers, among others. Adding more, he said, the government is closely monitoring the global price movements and their impact on India’s economy through trade.
In another reply, the minister said that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices for 2021-22 stood at ₹2,36,64,637 crore as per provisional estimates of annual national income 2021-22.
The real GDP growth rate for FY 2021-22 stood at 8.7 per cent while the central government’s fiscal deficit for FY 2021-22 was ₹15,86,537 crore, which is 6.7 per cent of GDP.
The minister said the provisional estimate for central government’s public debt at end of financial year 2021-22 was 52 per cent of GDP, citing the quarterly report on public debt management for the quarter January- March 2022. (PTI)
