India’s GDP growth is robust on the back of solid investment demand which is supported by healthy balance sheets of banks and corporates, the government’s focus on capital expenditure and prudent monetary, regulatory and fiscal policies, the RBI said on Thursday.
In the Annual Report for 2023-24, the central bank said that the Indian economy is navigating the drag from an adverse global macroeconomic and financial environment.
It said that the Indian economy is well-placed to step up growth trajectory over the next decade in an environment of macroeconomic and financial stability.
“As headline inflation eases towards the target, it will spur consumption demand especially in rural areas,” it added.
External sector’s strength and buffers in the form of foreign exchange reserves will insulate domestic economic activity from global spillovers.
Geopolitical tensions, geoeconomic fragmentation, global financial market volatility, international commodity price movements and erratic weather developments pose downside risks to the growth outlook and upside risks to the inflation outlook, the report added.
The RBI also emphasised that the Indian economy would have to navigate challenges posed by rapid adoption of AI/ML (artificial intelligence/machine learning) technologies as well as recurrent climate shocks.
The annual report is a statutory report of RBI’s central board of directors. The report covers the working and functions of the Reserve Bank of India for the April 2023-March 2024 period.
