New Delhi: The Union Budget today pegged India’s nominal gross domestic product growth at 11.5% for 2015-16 (Apr-Mar), unchanged from the current fiscal. Real GDP growth for 2015-16 has been estimated at 8.0-8.5%, as against the current year’s estimate of 7.4%. Presenting the full Budget in Parliament today, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “Growth (in real terms) in 2015-16 is expected to be between 8.0-8.5%. Aiming for a double-digit rate seems feasible very soon.”
The Indian economy is projected to grow 7.4% in the current financial year ending March, compared with 6.9% last year, according to the new gross domestic product growth series, released by the Central Statistics Office. Based on the earlier series, the Indian economy was projected to grow at a modest 5.5% in 2014-15 compared to 4.7% a year earlier.
On the inflation front, the full Budget pegged the headline number at close to 5% by the end of the current financial year. “This will allow for further monetary policy easing,” Jaitley said. The Reserve Bank of India had on Jan 15 slashed the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.75%. This move was said to be the start of a monetary policy easing cycle, expected to give a push to economic growth in the country.
“When other economies are facing serious challenges, India is about to take-off on a faster growth trajectory once again… In short, Madam Speaker, we have turned around the economy dramatically, restoring macro-economic stability and creating the conditions for sustainable poverty elimination, job creation and durable double-digit economic growth,” Jaitley said.
The finance ministry’s Economic Survey has projected India’s economy to grow 8.1-8.5% in 2015-16 (Apr-Mar) on the back of government reforms, declining crude oil prices, and likely monetary policy easing.
