Multiple green shoots visible: NK Singh
NEWDELHI: Multiple green shoots of recovery are visible in the economy as is evident from a sharp rise in employment numbers, chairman of the 15th Finance Commission NK Singh said on Friday, while maintaining that the growth outlook for the financial year remains uncertain.
“There is evidence of some sharp recovery. Employment numbers have gone up very sharply. Huge green shoots on agriculture and fertiliser sales are visible due to normal monsoon. Farm sector revival will be an important ingredient for recovery process of the economy this year. Foreign direct investment inflows are robust and there is sharp recovery in the automotwo biles sector,” he said.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), the country’s largest carmaker, reported sales of 18,539 vehicles in May after failing to sell a single unit in the preceding month. The company restarted production in a phased manner at of its units last month after the government eased lockdown curbs. Unemployment rate has fallen sharply in recent weeks, coming close to the pre-lockdown weeks, according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy data. Singh declined to provide a growth projection for the current financial year, citing uncertainties. However, he said the country’s 30-year average growth rate stands at around 6.5-7% and nothing so far shows that India’s medium-term growth potential has been damaged.
The IMF on Wednesday projected the Indian economy to contract 4.5% in FY21 against its earlier growth estimate of 1.9%. S&P Global Ratings on Friday said the permanent loss in output due to the Covid-19 pandemic to be the highest in India in the Asia Pacific region at 10.9%.