oppn parties GDP Grows At 8.4% In Q2

News Snippets

  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
Devendra Fadnavis to be the next chief minister of Maharashtra after Eknath Shinde agrees to join the government as deputy CM
oppn parties
GDP Grows At 8.4% In Q2

By Ashwini Agarwal
First publised on 2021-11-30 16:16:02

Indian GDP grew by 8.4% in the second quarter of the current financial year. It had contracted by 7.4% in the same quarter last year. The GDP at constant (2011-12) prices is estimated to be Rs 35.73 lakh crore in Q2 of FY 2022 against Rs 32.97 lakh crore last year. The recovery and the growth were led by agriculture, manufacturing and the services sector. Projections show that a double-digit growth is on the cards for FY2022.

The growth was along expected lines according to most experts. It was believed that with strong fundamentals and with withdrawal of Covid-related restrictions, it was a matter of time before the services sector, the resolute driver of the economy, would catch up. It happened in the last quarter and continued in this quarter too.

The festival season also helped as demand picked up for most goods and services. The accommodative stance of the RBI, along with low interest rates and high liquidity also helped in fueling growth. Inflation, largely due to high fuel and input prices remains a worry but is still within manageable limits. As all economic indicators, including GST collections, the Purchase Manager's Index and export figures are good also in October and November the economy is on track to clock double-digit growth in the full financial year 2021-22.

The only spoiler could be the scare of Omicron spreading fast and starting the third Covid wave in India. Since very little is known about the new variant, if it turns out to be as destructive as Delta and Delta+, it might trigger a wave of infections that will force the government to impose restrictions again. That would once again kill demand, throw supply chains out of gear and spell disaster for the economy. But with vaccine manufacturers saying that an Omicron specific booster dose is possible, there is hope that the virus will be contained.