Indian Economy off to a good start in Sept qtr: CEA Nageswaran

New Delhi: India’s Q1FY24 GDP growth of 7.8% is a "good number" and the government can comfortably maintain a growth target of 6.5% for FY24, according to India's chief economic advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran.

IBNS • 1 Sept 2023, 02:26 am

He was addressing the media after government released April-June quarter GDP data.

India's economy grew fastest in a year in the April-June quarter, riding on strong services activity and robust demand.

The chief economic advisor also said that show that

In the second quarter, the economy is off to a good start as reflected by high-frequency indicators for July and all parameters point that good growth in the services sector will continue in the coming quarters.

Nageswaran emphasised that the recent spike in food inflation is likely to go down with fresh stocks pouring in and government measures but the impact of insufficient rainfall in August must be observed.

In the June quarter, the private sector announced the highest number if new investment projects in 14 years. He stated that the private investment is not waiting to take off but it has already taken off

He said expenditure management is the focus, adding that the fiscal deficit up to July is also affected by Covid-related expenditure

He underscored that the current account deficit is well within the tolerance level. Merchandise exports slowed down but the rise in services exports offset the decline.