Though production of 8 core infrastructure sectors slowed to a 5-month low in March, other manufacturing and services indicators paint an optimistic picture of the economy.
Apart from RBI rate hike, uncertainty in banking, insurance & financial services in North American markets have resulted in weak Q4. We look at 59 non-finance & non-oil companies.
A paper by ex RBI official says dominance of 'Top-5' firms lets them excessively raise prices, but analysis of metal sector shows it's down to raw material costs, global inflation, etc.
India's growth has been revised downwards to 5.9% for 2023, largely in keeping with global activity. However, high debt levels mean large parts of revenue will go in interest payments.
While a higher capital outlay has been budgeted for FY 23-24, trends of last FY suggest states have underspent on capex & are unlikely to achieve their targets for 2022-23.
World Bank points to declining investment growth in the 2011-21 period. Policies promoting investment, improved human capital & faster labour supply could help reverse slowdown.
European Central Bank has raised its policy rate by 50 basis points & US Federal Reserve by 25 basis points with the aim to bring inflation back down to target levels.
Over the past few years, especially post-pandemic, financial savings have been witnessing a shift with more households shifting away from traditional instruments such as bank deposits.
Having received additional data on Covid-impacted 2020-21, govt has revised the year’s growth upwards in each revision. Growth for post-pandemic 2021-22 has also been estimated higher.
COMMENTS