Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das in the Monetary Policy Committee meeting announcements on Thursday stated that GDP growth for 2023-24 is projected at 6.5 per cent. He said that the risks are evenly balanced. He had projected growth for 2023-24 at 6.5 per cent in the previous two policies in June and April.
Governor Das stated that Q1 will grow at 8 per cent, Q2 at 6.5 per cent, Q3 at 6 per cent and Q4 at 5.7 per cent. In the previous policy in June too, RBI had pegged the growth for Q1 at 8 per cent, Q2 at 6.5 per cent, Q3 at 6 per cent and Q4 at 5.7 per cent. The June policy quarterly projection was slightly different from April’s that pegged Q1 growth at 7.8 per cent, Q2 at 6.4 per cent, Q3 at 6.1 per cent, and Q4 at 5.9 per cent.
For Q1 of the next financial year or 2024-25, growth is projected at 6.6 per cent.
The Governor stated that the Indian economy has continued to grow at a reasonable pace becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, and contributing around 15 per cent to the global growth. The Indian economy is exuding enhanced strength and stability, he added, and has made significant progress towards controlling inflation.
Referring to the global economy, RBI Governor Das stated that India is uniquely placed to benefit from its ongoing transformational shift.
“Global economy continues to face daunting challenges of inflation, geopolitical uncertainty and extreme weather conditions…India is expected to withstand external headwinds on the economic growth front,” he added.
The upcoming festival season is also expected to provide support to private consumption and investment activities, he said.
Meanwhile, the central bank kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent, and maintained tha withdrawal of accommodation stance. He, however, increased CPI inflation forecast for FY24 to 5.4 per cent from 5.1 per cent.
Also read: RBI MPC meet in August: RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.50% third time in a row
Also read: RBI MPC meet: RBI raises inflation projection for FY24 to 5.4%