GDP Q1 growth pegged at 13-15.7%
SBI Ecowrap forecasts 15.7% growth in Q1, while Icra predicts13% as against 16.2% projected by RBI
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Despite global spillovers, elevated inflation and some slackening of external demand as geo-political developments take their toll on world trade, SBI research report sees progress in Indian economy with upward bias
Mumbai: Leading economists have pencilled in a high 13-15.7 per cent uptick in the economy in the first quarter of 2022-23 with an upward bias.
Soumya Kanti Ghosh, the group chief economic adviser at State Bank of India (SBI), on Tuesday said he expects the GDP to clip past 15.7 per cent in the first quarter with more chances of the final numbers printing in higher, while Aditi Nayar, the chief economist at the rating agency Icra, said the economy will grow much lower at 13 per cent in the June quarter. The national statistical office will announce the first quarter GDP numbers later next week. While GDP contracted by 23.9 per cent in June 2020 due to the first wave of the pandemic, the same had given a higher boost in June 2021 clipping at 20.1 per cent, despite the period being more devastating in terms of loss of lives from the second wave of Covid-19.
The Reserve Bank-led monetary policy committee in the August 5 policy review projected the economy to grow 16.2 per cent in the April-June quarter. According to SBI Research, the GDP is expected to print 15.7 per cent in Q1, with a large possibility of an upward bias. If this materialises, it expects upsides to the central bank's growth projections of 7.2 per cent for FY23. The high base effect along with the impact of the heatwave on wheat output, geo-political issues and elevated commodity prices on demand/margins will temper the pace of growth in Q1 at 13 per cent, Nayar of Icra said, adding the gross value added to come in at 12.6 per cent. Icra expects sectoral growth to be driven by the services sector which will log in 17-19 per cent growth, followed by the industry (9-11 per cent).
The SBI report said that of the 41 high frequency leading indicators that it tracks, as much as 89 per cent accelerated in Q1 compared to 75 per cent in Q1FY22, indicating strong and broad-based growth momentum. In Q2FY23, leading indicators continue to accelerate with 81 per cent of the indicators, for which data is available showing an uptrend over Q1FY22.
