India's GDP crosses $4 trillion for the first time, ranks fourth worldwide
3 min read19 Nov 2023, 01:35 PM IST
This is the first time the country has reached the milestone and marks a significant step towards its $5 trillion economy goal.
This is the first time the country has reached the $4 trillion milestone
This is the first time the country has reached the $4 trillion milestone
India has made its way into the top four countries globally in terms of GDP, crossing the $4 trillion mark on November 19, ET Now has reported
This is the first time the country has reached the milestone and marks a significant step towards its $5 trillion economy goal.
Q2 GDP Surprise
There is a “wide consensus" supported by economic forecasts that real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter will turn out to be better than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) projection of 6.5 percent, an article in the central bank’s November bulletin said on November 16.
India’s economy expanded 7.8 percent in the first three months of the financial year and RBI governor
Shaktikanta Das recently expressed confidence in the domestic economy.
“Looking at the momentum of economic activity—a few early data points have come in—I expect Q2 GDP numbers which will come at the end of November in all probability will surprise on the upside," Das said on October 31.
The optimism that real GDP growth will be higher than 6.5%, the article said, appears to be supported by corporate results for the September quarter.
Analysts' Opinion
India's economic
growth prospects should remain strong over the medium term, with GDP expanding 6-7.1 percent annually in fiscal years 2024-2026, S&P Global Ratings said on November 16.
In a report titled 'Global Banks Country-By-Country Outlook 2024', S&P said the banking sector's weak loans will decline to 3-3.5 percent of gross advances by March 31, 2025, on the back of structural improvement, including healthy corporate balance sheets, tighter underwriting standards, and improved risk-management practices.
The report said that global uncertainties will have a lesser impact on the Indian economy.
Slower global growth and external demand will weigh on economic activity and could fuel further inflation. However, given that India is domestically oriented, the agency expects the economic growth to be less affected, it added.
"Economic growth momentum to continue. India's economic growth prospects should remain strong over the medium term, with GDP expanding 6-7.1 percent annually in fiscal years 2024-2026," S&P said.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley Research on November 13 said it expects India's economic growth at around 6.5 percent for FY2024 and FY2025, citing strong domestic fundamentals.
The research arm of the investment bank, in its 2024 India Economics Outlook, said the domestic demand supported by strength in corporate and financial sector balance sheets and the follow-through of policy reform measures will aid India's growth amid a global slowdown.
Recently, Moody's Investor Services retained India's economic growth at 6.7 percent for 2023, citing the country's remarkable resilience amid a global slowdown buoyed by solid domestic demand.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also raised its 2023-24 growth projection for India, to 6.3 percent from its July estimate of 6.1 percent, citing stronger-than-expected consumption during Q1. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) estimates growth at 6.5 percent for FY24.
Government Roadmap
The government’s roadmap to making India a $5 trillion economy comprises measures like focusing on inclusive growth, promoting digital economy, fintech, technology-enabled development, energy transition, and climate action, and relying on a virtuous cycle of investment and growth, minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in August.
Responding to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha, Chaudhary said that major reforms like Goods and Services Tax (GST), Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), a significant reduction in the corporate tax rate, the Make in India and Start-up India strategies, and Production Linked Incentive Schemes (PLIs), among others, will initiate growth of the Indian economy.
Chaudhury said that the Union Budget 2023-24 has taken further steps to sustain the high growth of India's economy, which include a substantial increase in capital investment outlay for the third year in a row by 33 percent to ₹10 lakh crore (3.3 percent of GDP).
This is the first time the country has reached the milestone and marks a significant step towards its $5 trillion economy goal.
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