While India’s growth will continue to be propelled by domestic
consumption and investment demand, global and regional uncertainties and
domestic disruptions may keep inflationary pressures elevated in the future, said
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
After the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF)-led development committee meeting at Marrakesh, she said while the
government has worked towards controlling food inflation, merchandise export
growth faces challenges in the backdrop of slowing global demand.
“Services exports continue to do well and are likely
to continue doing so as the preference for remote working remains unabated,
typically manifested in the proliferation of Global Capability Centres,” she
said.
India’s retail inflation eased for the second
consecutive month in September to 5.02 per cent.
Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation moderated
to 6.83 per cent in August from a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July, thus
meeting the Reserve Bank of India’s target range of 4-6 per cent during
September.
Food inflation, measured by the Consumer Food Price
Index, which accounts for nearly half of the overall consumer price basket,
slowed to 6.56 per cent in September, down from 9.94 per cent in August and
from 11.51 per cent in July, according to the latest data released by the Ministry
of Statistics and Programme implementation.
Indian exports have performed well so far this
financial year (as of July 23), mainly led by services export growth, stated Sitharaman.
“Improvement in external balance was accompanied by
investor confidence in India, as reflected in strong foreign investment
inflows,” said the FM.
“As a result of robust foreign inflows and a decline
in imports, India’s foreign exchange reserves have strengthened and stood at
$603.9 billion at the end of July 2023,” she added.
Sitharaman said India is likely to achieve its
sustainable development goal target on multidimensional poverty well ahead of
its target of 2030.
“From an economic growth perspective, the 135 million
(13.5 crore) Indians escaping poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21 and
graduating to the middle class will boost the engine of self-sustained growth
through consumption, savings, and human capital accumulation,” she added.
Agencies
