New Delhi [India], March 1 : Arvind Panagariya, chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, has said that India's GDP figures for the October- December quarter of this fiscal year are encouraging and that the economy is doing very well.
Speaking toon the sidelines of the 49th Civil Accounts Day celebrations here, Panagariya said that revised GDP figures indicate the robustness of the Indian economy.
"The economy is doing very well. After all, for the year 2022-23, the growth rate got revised from 7 percent to 7.6 per cent. Already that is a higher rate of growth, a higher GDP. On top of that, we found that the 2023-24 growth rate got revised even more from 8.2 per cent to 9.2 per cent. I think this really speaks for the robustness of the economy," Panagariya said.
"The base of the GDP has gone up. Now, this 6.2 or 6.5 that you are calculating is on a much increased base. If it was the old base, probably that 6.5 anyway would look more like 7%. So overall, I think yesterday's news was very, very good. I'm certainly very encouraged by it," he added.
The Indian economy grew by 6.2 percent in real terms in the October-December quarter of the current financial year 2024-25, government data showed on Friday.
The October- December growth is higher than the July- September quarter. In July-September, the GDP grew by 5.6 percent.
Speaking about the impact of US tariffs on the Indian exports, Panagariya said the announcements of President Donald Trump do pose a challenge but there could be "a win-win" situation for the two countries through liberalising of tariff rates under a bilateral trade deal.
He noted that trade negotiations with the European Union and United Kingdom will present an opportunity for India.
He referred to US tariffs on China and said a trade triangle between the US, Europe and India will greatly benefit the country.
During his speech at the 49th Civil Accounts Day celebrations, Panagariya emphasised that India needs to maintain a growth rate of 10.1 percent in dollar terms at current prices to reach the high-income threshold of USD 14,000 per capita income by 2047. Per capita income of USD 14,000 is the threshold that India must cross to classify as a high-income country at 2023 dollar prices.
He said the growth rate needed for per capita income growth is 7.3 percent to achieve USD 14,000 by 2047.
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said in a release on Friday that Real GDP or GDP at Constant Prices is estimated to attain a level of Rs 187.95 lakh crore in the financial year 2024-25, against the First Revised Estimate of GDP for the year 2023-24 of Rs 176.51 lakh crore. The growth rate in Real GDP during 2024-25 is estimated at 6.5 per cent as compared to 9.2 per cent in 2023-24.
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