By Shreya Maskara
The Indian economy seems to be making a rapid recovery from the impacts of the rollouts of the goods and services tax, and demonitisation, with growth estimated to be around 6.6% for the financial year. Additionally, while India is all set to overtake Japan’s power capacity, the NITI Aayog Vice Chairman has given the Modi government a positive scorecard for their macroeconomic performance over the past four years.
Here are some important stories about the economy you may have missed last week.
Indias economy may have expanded by 7.1-7.5% last quarter
Driven by the increase in manufacturing and construction, experts said the Indian economy might have grown by about 7.1-5% during the January-March quarter this year. Experts said, ahead of the growth estimates to be released by the Central Statistics Office on May 31, that the financial year 2018 gross domestic product is likely to be around 6.6%, which would mean last quarter growth was about 7.1%.
The Economic Survey also predicted that Indian would have a GDP of 7-7.5% in 2018-19 and reclaim its position as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
India set to overtake Japan’s power capacity
According to a BMI research report, India will overtake Japan to have the second-largest power capacity in Asia of 363.32 gigawatts in 2018. India’s power capacity is expected to increase by 69% till 2027, with coal being the main source contributing to 75% of the power supply, the report went on to detail. Earlier this month, the government achieved its target of electrifying 100% of the villages in India, and by 2020, India’s power capacity is expected to overtake that of the United States’ by becoming the second largest producer in the world.
Modi government improved in all macroeconomic parameters: NITI Aayog
Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, Rajiv Kumar, said he thinks the economic performance of the Modi government has been “miraculous”, as it has shown improvement in all macroeconomic parameters, including growth, inflation and fiscal deficit. Narendra Modi became the 15th Prime Minister of India four years ago on May 26, 2014.
In 2014, the economy was on decline, non performing assets (NPAs) of banks had risen already. Plus there was a complete policy paralysis, the government was on standstill. With that kind of legacy, it is quite miraculous that we have come to where we are at this moment in terms of macroeconomics, Kumar said in an interview with PTI.
Shreya Maskara is a senior copy editor at Qrius