Rajeev Kumar, former vice president of NITI Aayog. | Photo credit: PTI
Former NITI Aayog Vice-President Rajeev Kumar said on February 19 that India is likely to grow at 6 percent in the next fiscal year and that the country will have a high growth rate due to several reforms implemented by the Narendra Modi government in the last eight years. Can stay together.
Mr. Kumar added that the major risks going forward would arise from the deterioration of convergence in the North American and European economies.
“India has a good chance of persevering with high growth rates due to the reforms undertaken during the last eight years. We will manage to grow at a rate of 6 percent in 2023-24,” he said. told PTI in an interview.
According to Mr. Kumar, there are many downside risks, especially in the context of an uncertain global situation.
“These will have to be addressed through prudent policy measures designed to support our export efforts as well as improve the flow of private investment from both domestic and foreign sources,” he said.
The Reserve Bank has pegged India’s economic growth at 6.4 per cent for 2023-24, according to an Economic Survey tabled in Parliament.
According to the first advance estimate of the National Statistics Office (NSO), gross domestic product (GDP) growth is estimated at 7 percent in 2022-23.
The Economic Survey 2022-23 has projected core GDP growth of 6.5 percent in real terms for the next financial year.
Responding to a question on high inflation, Mr. Kumar said that the Reserve Bank has said that it will ensure that the rate of inflation is brought under control.
“Also a good winter harvest will help keep food prices down,” he noted.
The RBI cut its forecast for consumer price inflation (CPI) to 6.5 percent from 6.7 percent for the current fiscal year.
India’s retail inflation stood at 6.52 percent in January.
Responding to a question about India’s widening trade deficit with China, Mr. Kumar suggested that New Delhi re-engage with Beijing to explore greater market opportunities and gain access to the Chinese market. It should be.
“There are many products that India can export more to China.
“This will require re-engagement,” he stressed.
According to Mr Kumar, it would be possible for India to limit imports from China as most of the imported products are essential imports.
On 9 December 2022, Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh and the encounter resulted in “minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides.”
According to recent data released by Chinese Customs, trade between India and China touched a record high of $135.98 billion in 2022, while New Delhi’s trade deficit with Beijing exceeded $100 billion for the first time. done
Responding to a question on the Adani crisis, Mr. Kumar said that a strong public-private partnership is essential for infrastructure development at the required rate.
“I don’t think an incident like this with a private family company will stop that effort.
He observed that “… there are a large number of private sector companies that have participated in infrastructure development in the past and will continue to do so in the future.”
The Adani group has been under intense pressure since US short-seller Hindenburg Research on January 24 accused it of accounting fraud and stock manipulation, allegations the group called “malicious”, “baseless” and dismissed as “a calculated attack on India”. .
While the group’s listed companies lost more than $125 billion in market value in three weeks, opposition parties inside and outside Parliament attacked the BJP government for ramping up the port-energy group. The stocks of most of the group firms have recovered in the last few days.
