Navigating its way through the ravaging waves of the Covid pandemic, the Indian economy maintains itself on the path of swift recovery on the back of strategic reforms and the mega vaccination drive.
The monthly economic review released by the finance ministry for the month of September reveals that the external sector persistently offers bright prospects for India’s growth revival as merchandise exports crossed $30-billion for the sixth consecutive month in fiscal 2021-22.
As per the review, the well progressing economy is indicated by the Sustained and robust growth in agriculture, sharp rebound in manufacturing and industry, resumption of services activity and buoyant revenues.
“India is well-placed on the path to swift recovery with growth impulses visibly transmitted to all sectors of the economy… Strategic reforms undertaken so far along with new milestones in vaccination drive have enabled the economy to navigate the ravaging waves of the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said.
The uprising merchandise trade deficit in September attests the rise in consumption and investment demand in India, it said.
Further, the nation witnesses a comfortable external debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio, declining to 20.2 per cent at the end-June 2021, from 21.1 per cent at the end-March 2021.
With restoration of supply chains, improved mobility, and softening food inflation, consumer price index (CPI) inflation retreated to a four month-low of 5.3 per cent in August 2021, clearly demonstrating that inflationary tendencies are pandemic-induced and transitory.
Any how the volatile prices in the international crude oil markets and upward-bound prices of edible oils and metal products are expected to pose concerns, it said.
Latest trends in high-frequency economic indicators in August and September further indicate a broad-based recovery evidenced in sustained improvement in power consumption, rail freight activity, e-way bills, robust goods and services tax collections, highway toll collections posting a 21-month high, sequential uptick in air freight and passenger traffic, and quantum leap in digital transactions.
