RBI Retains GDP Growth At 10.5% For 2021-22

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today projected the real GDP growth for 2021-22 at 10.5 per cent. According to the country's central bank rural demand remains buoyant and record agriculture production for 2020-21 bodes well for its resilience.

"Urban demand has been gaining strength on the back of normalisation of economic activity and should get a fillip with the ongoing vaccination drive. The fiscal stimulus from increased allocation for 4 capital expenditure under the Union Budget 2021-22, expanded production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme and rising capacity utilisation (from 63.3 per cent in Q2 to 66.6 per cent in Q3:2020-21) should provide strong support to investment demand and exports.

Firms engaged in manufacturing, services and infrastructure polled by the Reserve Bank in March 2021 were optimistic about a pick-up in demand and expansion in business activity into 2021-22. Consumer confidence, on the other hand, has dipped with the recent surge in COVID infections in some states imparting uncertainty to the outlook. Taking these factors into consideration, the projection of real GDP growth for 2021-22 is retained at 10.5 per cent consisting of 26.2 per cent in Q1, 8.3 per cent in Q2, 5.4 per cent in Q3 and 6.2 per cent in Q4," the Reserve Bank of India has said.