The Reserve Bank on Friday lowered the country’s growth projection for the current financial year to 9.5 per cent from 10.5 per cent estimated earlier, amid uncertainties created by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Addressing the media after the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the sudden rise in COVID-19 infections, and fatalities has impaired the near nascent recovery that was underway, but has not snuffed it out.
The impulses of growth are still alive, he said, and added that the aggregate supply conditions have shown resilience in the face of the second wave.
RBI had lowered the growth projection for 2021-22
The RBI Governor said the RBI will “continue to think and act out of the box”, planning for the worst and hoping for the best.
Das further said the measures announced on Friday, in conjunction with other steps taken so far are expected to reclaim the growth trajectory from which “we have slid”.
In April, the Reserve Bank had projected the real GDP growth for 2021-22 at 10.5 per cent.
India’s economy had contracted by less-than-expected 7.3 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 2021, after growth rate picked up in the fourth quarter. The gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.6 per cent in the January-March period, up from 0.5 per cent in the previous quarter.
“… real GDP growth is now projected at 9.5 per cent in 2021-22 consisting of 18.5 per cent in Q1; 7.9 per cent in Q2; 7.2 per cent in Q3; and 6.6 per cent in Q4 of 2021-22,” the Governor said.
