New Delhi, May 9 (KNN) India's Chief Economic Adviser, V Anantha Nageswaran, expressed confidence that the nation's GDP growth could touch 8 per cent in the fiscal year 2023-24, surpassing earlier estimates.

His optimism stems from the robust economic performance witnessed during the first three quarters of the financial year.

According to official data, India's GDP grew by an impressive 8.4 per cent in the third quarter ended December 2023, following expansions of 7.6 per cent and 7.8 per cent in the second and first quarters, respectively.

This trajectory raises the likelihood of surpassing the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) projection of 7.8 per cent growth for FY24.

Nageswaran's assessment contrasts with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) more conservative forecast of 7.5 per cent GDP growth for the 2023-24 fiscal year. However, he noted that if the RBI's estimate of 7 per cent growth for FY25 proves accurate or is exceeded, it would mark the fourth consecutive year of India's economy expanding at 7 per cent or higher in the post-COVID era.

While acknowledging the potential impact of monsoon patterns on agricultural output, the Chief Economic Adviser highlighted India's strengthened financial sector and corporate balance sheets as key enablers of sustainable economic growth between 6.5-7 per cent beyond FY25.

He credited investments in augmenting physical and digital infrastructure for positioning the economy to pursue non-inflationary growth and absorb overheating challenges.

Nageswaran also revealed that household sector net financial savings declined to 5.1 per cent in 2022-23, attributing the drop to a shift towards real sector investments.

Addressing the RBI's recent draft guidelines on higher provisioning for under-construction infrastructure projects, the Chief Economic Adviser refrained from commenting, citing the proposal's ongoing consultation phase.

(KNN Bureau)