India GDP expected to grow 8% and above in March quarter and FY24, says FM Sitharaman

livemint.com:

MUMBAI : The Indian economy is expected to grow at 8% or above in the last quarter of the current financial year, leading to an equivalent growth for the whole of fiscal year 2024 (FY24), finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday. “Hopefully the fourth quarter (of FY24) which ends tomorrow will also have it in the range 8% or above 8%, resulting in 2023-24 having an average GDP growth of 8% or over 8% is what my expectation is," Sitharaman said in her keynote address at the Mint India Investment Summit 2024 here.

India's economy expanded at 7.8% in Q1, 7.6% in Q2 and 8.4% in Q3 of FY24. “Three quarters of consistent growth over 8% is really good news and I thank the people of India for being so energetic, and coming out to make sure that India remains the fastest growing economy," she said.

Following the 8.4% growth in Q3, which surpassed expectations, various institutions have upgraded their GDP growth forecasts for India. The most recent upgrade came from Goldman Sachs, which has raised its 2024 economic growth projection for India to 6.6%, a 10 basis points improvement from its previous forecast.

Addressing inflation, the finance minister said that the government is “playing in tandem with the Reserve Bank of India" (RBI) to ensure that inflation is well within the tolerance band and that food inflation in particular is contained. Sitharaman acknowledged that seasonal food shortages can cause inflation spikes but reassured that the situation is under control, thanks to a dedicated group of ministers overseeing the matter.