NEW DELHI: Chief economic advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Thursday said economic activity in some sectors has picked up pace during Oct-Nov and a GDP growth of 6.5-7% in the current fiscal is feasible.
He also said that the 5.4% Q2 GDP growth estimate could be revised upwards going forward, as current estimates are not seasonally adjusted.
“I think in reacting to these numbers, I don’t think we should throw the baby out with the bathwater. Because the underlying growth story still remains very much intact,” Nageswaran said. India’s economic growth slowed to a seven-quarter low of 5.4% in the July-Sept quarter, from 6.7% in the April-June quarter.
Nageswaran said the slowdown in GDP growth in the second quarter could be because of some “religious observances” in Sept and excess monsoon rainfall. It could also be because of other, more long-standing issues that are beginning to emerge. So explanations could be from mundane to more serious ones, he said, adding this is the first estimate for Q2 GDP growth. “It could be revised higher,” he said.
He said that the Economic Survey had projected 6.5-7% for FY25. “To be able to hit 6.5% growth for the year as a whole, we need a 7% real GDP growth in the next two quarters of which, two months are already over in the third quarter. We are in the third month… I think it is doable if you look at some of these pickups that have happened in specific areas. So, I believe that a growth outcome in the range of 6.5-7% is feasible for the year,” Nageswaran said at an Assocham event. The Indian economy grew 8.2% in FY24.
RBI had projected growth to be 7.2% in the current fiscal, higher than the 6.5-7% projected in the finance ministry’s Economic Survey.
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