ADB ups India’s GDP growth for current fiscal to 7% from 6.7%

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday revised its forecast of India’s GDP growth for the current fiscal year to 7 per cent from its earlier predicted figure of 6.7 per cent.

The upward revision for the current fiscal, the ADB’s April edition of the Asian Development Outlook said, was based on robust growth that would be an outcome of steady investments in the private and public sectors and a gradual improvement in consumer demand.

Although growth will be steady in 2024-25, the figures are slightly lower than 2022-2023, a fiscal year with a projected growth of 7.6 per cent. The ADB said India’s economy saw an impressive upward swing in 2022-23 thanks mainly to “strong momentum in manufacturing and services”.

“The economy grew robustly in fiscal 2023 with strong momentum in manufacturing and services. It will continue to grow rapidly over the forecast horizon. Growth will be driven primarily by robust investment demand and improving consumption demand. Inflation will continue its downward trend in tandem with global trends,” said the ADB report.

The ADB forecast for fiscal year 2024-25, in fact, resonates the projections of the Reserve Bank of India. The RBI had declared India’s GDP growth during the ongoing fiscal can be expected to be 7 per cent, as an outcome of moderating inflation, sustained momentum in services and manufacturing sectors, and the prediction of a regular monsoon.

The ADB prediction that Indian economy would grow at 6.7 per cent during the fiscal year 2024-25 came in December 2023.