Economy could grow at 7% this fiscal: CEA
New Delhi: As part of the Union government’s drive to educate consumers about fraudulent practices, the consumer affairs ministry will launch a podcast that will help raise awareness about such malpractices, two people aware of the matter said. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) will use a storytelling format for the podcast to explain the experiences of fraud victims and the resolution of their problems.
India’s economy likely expanded at 8% through fiscal year 2024, and growth in the current year is projected at 7%, V. Anantha Nageswaran, chief economic adviser to the government, said at an event organized by the think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) on Wednesday.
Nageswaran said that for the Indian economy to register 7% or higher growth for the fourth consecutive year in FY25, “a lot would depend on the monsoons”.
“Right now, the expectations are that we will have an abovenormal monsoon. But, [its] spatial and temporal distribution will matter,” he said.
On inflation, Nageswaran said he doesn’t foresee any significant upside risk for now and expects retail inflation to remain at the midpoint of the RBI’S target range of 2–6% in
FY25. “There can always be scenarios on the geopolitical front that can cause inflation to be more than what we expect. But at this point, our baseline scenario is that inflation gradually converges towards the midpoint of the target range in FY25,” he added.
Though CPI inflation remains above the central bank’s target of 4%, it has stayed within its tolerance range of 2-6% for the seventh consecutive month in March.
Nageswaran also batted for growing small and medium enterprises to help increase the share of manufacturing in the country’s overall GDP. “Building blocks such as supply-side infrastructure, physical connectivity, and financial inclusion are good work in progress. But compliance burdens and inspection burdens that businesses face at the subnational government level need to be addressed to grow the manufacturing share of GDP,” he added.
Nageswaran said that for the Indian economy to register 7% growth in FY25, “a lot would depend
on monsoons”