As per the data, the Indian economy expanded by 8.7 per cent in 2021-22 against a 6.6 per cent contraction in 2020-21
New Delhi:
India’s economy grew by 4.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021-22, pushing up the annual growth rate to 8.7 per cent, official data showed on Tuesday.
However, growth in the January-March period was slower than the 5.4 per cent expansion in the previous October-December quarter of 2021-22.
The gross domestic product (GDP) had expanded by 2.5 per cent in the corresponding January-March period of 2020-21, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
As per the data, the Indian economy expanded by 8.7 per cent in 2021-22 against a 6.6 per cent contraction in 2020-21.
The NSO, in its second advance estimate, had projected GDP growth during 2021-22 at 8.9 per cent China had registered an economic growth of 4.8 per cent in the first three months of 2022.
Commenting on growth rate, chief economic advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said that except contact services like hospitality, tourism and leisure, all other sectors had bounced back to register a strong recovery compared to pre-pandemic levels and that the economy primarily showed strong growth in FY22 on the back of exports and government spending.
Speaking about the headwinds for the economy, primarily due to global conditions, Nageswaran said that high global prices of commodities with significant import dependency was a concern with regard to items like crude oil, edible oil, fertiliser, metals, etc. Among other headwinds, he listed tightening of monetary policies in most countries, supply chain bottlenecks, delays and shortage of key inputs and potential global recession with an impact on export growth for India.
On whether India faces a stagflation risk, Nageswaran said, “Stagflationary risk to India is quite low compared to other countries,” he said at a media briefing after the release of FY22 and January-March GDP data. “India’s problem in handling inflation is not an isolated case. However, it is better placed than other nations as the fiscal and monetary authorities have both taken steps to alleviate the pressure.”
Stagflation is the phase when an economy faces moderation in GDP growth as well as high inflation.
“Balancing growth, inflation, fiscal and current deficits and the external value of the currency will be the continuing policy focus this financial year,” Nageswaran said.