NEW DELHI: Indian economy is likely to grow by 7.3 per cent in next fiscal and the growth will accelerate further to 7.5 per cent in 2019-20 on account of increased investment in infrastructure and waning of the disruptions caused by GST rollout, said global rating agency Fitch.
In its Global Economic Outlook report, the US-based agency forecast Indian economy to clock a growth rate of 6.5 per cent this fiscal, a tad lower than official estimates by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of 6.6 per cent. The economy grew 7.1 per cent in 2016-17.
The pick up in growth is expected as “the influence of one-off policy-related factor which was dragging growth has now waned,” it added.
The rating agency also projected uptick in global growth saying the US, eurozone and China are all likely to grow well above trend in 2018.
The global economic growth is set to remain above 3 per cent for three consecutive years until 2019, a performance not achieved since the mid 2000s, it said.
As regard India, it said the money supply recovered to its pre-demonetization level in mid-2017 and is now increasing steadily, similar to the previous trend.
Also, disruptions related to goods and services tax (GST) rollout in July 2017 have gradually diminished.
Showing signs of recovery, the Indian economy hit a five-quarter high of 7.2 per cent in the October-December period on good show in key sectors like agriculture, construction and manufacturing.
Fitch said the Budget for 2018-19 fiscal, beginning April, envisages a slower pace of fiscal consolidation and, therefore, should support the near-term growth outlook.
It contains measures that will benefit low-income earners (such as a minimum price support and free health insurance) and support rural demand. The government also plans to ramp up infrastructure outlays, in particular by state-owned enterprises, the agency said.
“Those policies come on top of substantial road construction plans and a bank recapitalization plan announced late last year, which should also provide some support to growth in the medium term,” Fitch said.
On inflation, the rating agency said, accelerating food prices were the main cause of the pick-up in headline inflation. By contrast, fuel price increases have been contained by the government’s decision to roll back excise duties to keep prices stable in the face of rising oil prices.
“We expect inflation to hover a bit below 5 per cent in 2018 and 2019, in the upper band of the Reserve Bank’s target,” it said.
Fitch said it expects the Reserve Bank of India to start raising interest rates next year as growth gains further traction, while inflationary pressures should remain quite high.
The minimum support price scheme for agricultural products and increased customs duties on certain products (such as electronics, textiles and auto parts) will boost prices against a backdrop of accelerating growth.-PTI
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