India on course to achieve 7% growth in current fiscal: Finance Secretary TV Somanathan
1 min read 31 Aug 2022, 08:23 PM ISTCommenting about the economy growing at 13.5% in the April-June quarter, Somanathan noted that GDP had exceeded pre-pandemic levels by nearly 4%
PremiumFinance Secretary TV Somanathan told reporters in New Delhi that India's economy will grow at more than 7% in current financial year (April 2022 to March 2023).
Commenting about the economy growing at 13.5% in the April-June quarter, Somanathan noted that GDP had exceeded pre-pandemic levels by nearly 4%.
The last time India's economy grew faster was in April-June 2021 when it gained 20.1% from the pandemic-depressed level a year earlier.
Manufacturing grew to 6.5% growth after a 0.2% contraction in the previous quarter while the construction sector grew 16.8% after 2.0% growth in the previous quarter, data showed.
The Finance Secretary also said that the government is on course to meet the fiscal deficit target of 6.4% of GDP in current fiscal ending 31 March, 2023.
On GST collection for the month of August, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said it's expected to be in range of ₹1.42-1.43 lakh crore, in signs of buoyancy in economy.
“Gross fixed capital formation grows 34.7% in April-June, the highest in 10 years," Seth said.
Economists said Asia's third-largest economy faced downward risks with tighter monetary conditions and higher energy and commodity prices expected to weigh on consumer demand and companies' investment plans.
Kunal Kundu, an economist at Societe Generale in Bengaluru, said India's economic recovery process would be impacted by a weak labour market recovery and slowing domestic consumption.
"For FY23, we expect the real GDP to grow by 7.1% y/y, though a lower print (rate) would not surprise us."
The rupee's depreciation of more than 7% against the dollar this year has made driven up the cost of imported items for consumers and businesses.
