April 17, 2023
In its Economic Survey released on January 31, the finance ministry had forecasted that the GDP growth rate for the country in FY24 would range between 6% to 6.8%
The growth forecasts for India for the current and the next fiscal year have been lowered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by 20 bps and 50 bps, respectively
The pandemic has highlighted that digitalisation, particularly Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), is a positive catalyst for the global economy
Over 68% of total payments in India are made through the unified payments interface (UPI), with 8.7 billion UPI transactions in March 2023 alone
The Indian economy is expected to grow by 7% in FY23 and is forecasted to be the fastest-growing economy in FY24 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She made this announcement while speaking at the plenary meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee at the IMF Headquarters in Washington.
In its Economic Survey released on January 31, the finance ministry had forecast that the GDP growth rate for the country in FY24 would range between 6% to 6.8%. This projection was in contrast to the advance estimate of 7% for FY23.
The growth forecasts for India for the current and the next fiscal year have been lowered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by 20 bps and 50 bps, respectively, to 5.9% and 6.3%. This reduction is broadly in line with the cuts made in its global growth forecasts for 2023 and 2024 by 10 bps each to 2.8% and 3%. The downgrade indicates that India may not be coping with the global turmoil as exceptionally as it was expected to. Nonetheless, India is still projected to be the fastest-growing major economy during the forecast period, as per the IMF.
According to Sitharaman, the pandemic has highlighted that digitalisation, particularly Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), is a positive catalyst for the global economy. She emphasized that India’s DPI has created a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Sitharaman, through the G20 India presidency, expressed her commitment to finding solutions to global challenges that disproportionately affect the poorest and most vulnerable. She highlighted the positive impact of digitalization and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) on the global economy, particularly on India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Sitharaman shared that over 68% of total payments in India are made through the unified payments interface (UPI), with 8.7 billion UPI transactions in March 2023 alone, indicating an 82% growth in the 2022-23 financial year compared to the previous year. She also mentioned the success of DPI in achieving better targeting, including a gender-sensitive focus and targeting vulnerable sections. The Jan Dhan accounts and Aadhaar were leveraged to provide more than 90 million gas connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana as of January 30.
Source: Financial Express