India expected to reveal positive GDP data for the March quarter

31 May 2023 , 10:43 AM

On Wednesday, India is anticipated to reveal data that will show the country’s GDP expanded by 5% from a year earlier in the January-March quarter, picking up speed from the previous quarter’s 4.4% growth thanks to stable urban demand and government spending.

The strong performance of industries like travel and retail, as well as the boost to demand provided by declining food prices and the decline in oil prices globally, were key factors in the economists’ consensus projection, according to a Reuters poll.

The country may eventually be at the mercy of a possible global slump.

The central bank of India, the Reserve Bank of India, said in its annual report on Tuesday that ‘slowing global growth, enduring geopolitical tensions, and a potential upsurge in financial market volatility’ could pose dangers to economic growth.

Growth was last officially estimated at 7% for the entire fiscal year 2022–2023; however, when the GDP data is reported on Wednesday, that estimate may be altered. According to some private economists, growth in the year ending March 31 may come in at 6.8%.

High-frequency indicators revealed that sales of luxury vehicles, Apple mobile phones, and air travel had increased during the March quarter as a result of an increase in metropolitan earnings.

Given that the economy was still operating during the pandemic’s last stages the previous year, the performance appears less spectacular.

Due to the high inflation, real earnings for farm and manufacturing employees had little rise. As a result, sales of motorcycles, low-end consumer items, and train traffic remained below pre-pandemic levels.

According to the Mumbai-based Think Tank, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, the lack of well-paying jobs continues to be a significant problem for young people, as seen by the jobless rate increasing to 8.11% in April and more people entering the labour force.

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