Mumbai, June 8: The Reserve Bank of India on Friday revised upwards the GDP growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.2 per cent from 7 per cent on rising private consumption and revival of demand in rural areas.
Unveiling the bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) placed India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 8.2 per cent in 2023-24.
“During 2024-25 so far, domestic economic activity has maintained resilience,” he said, adding that manufacturing activity continues to gain ground on the back of strengthening domestic demand.
Also, the services sector maintained buoyancy, as evident in available high-frequency indicators.
Later replying to a question if the economy was overheating, RBI deputy governor Michael Debabrata Patra said: “We are not seeing signs of overheating because, remember, that level of output had fallen very low during the pandemic and even these high rates of growth are enabling it to catch up with that level. So, no signs of overheating”.
In his monetary policy statement, Governor Das said private consumption, the mainstay of aggregate demand, is recovering with steady discretionary spending in urban areas.
The revival in rural demand is getting a fillip from improving farm sector activity, and investment activity continues to gain traction on the back of ongoing expansion in non-food bank credit.