In the background of a disturbance in economic activities due to COVID, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Sunday, 11 July said that the economy will register a double-digit growth in 2021-22 and the disinvestment landscape also looks better, PTI reported.
Addressing the pandemic's impact, he said that the country has come out of the two waves with better preparation in case of a next surge.
"I think the government is far better prepared now to face the third Covid wave, if at all it does come up. I feel the impact of the third wave on the economy will be much weaker than it was during the second wave and the beginning of the first wave," he said.
"I expect India's GDP growth this fiscal would be in double digits," Kumar told PTI even as many financial organisations, such as S&P Global Ratings, Fitch Ratings have reduced their GDP estimates for India.
Speaking to PTI, he said, "We are now hopefully getting past our (Covid-19) pandemic and the economic activities will be strengthened as we get into the second half of this (financial) year given what I have seen for example various indicators, including the mobility indicators."
GDP Forecast Drops
The India economy had contracted by 7.3 per cent in the financial year which ended on 31 March, 2021.
S&P Global Ratings decreased India's growth forecast for the present fiscal year from 11 per cent to 9.5 per cent, while Fitch Ratings has cut down the forecast to 10 per cent from the previously estimated 12.8 per cent.
These revisions have come in view of the the lagged recovery after the second COVID surge.
Suggesting the possibility of a strong bounce back, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has estimated the economic growth at 9.5 per cent in the present fiscal year.
Further, Kumar has stated that in some sectors like steel, cement and real estate, significant investment in capacity expansion is happening already, PTI reported.
He added, "Full-fledged private investment recovery, we should expect by the third quarter of this fiscal," he added.
Recently, the government announced an added ₹ 23,123 crore funding, for the purpose of ramping up health infrastructure.
Disinvestment Climate
Speaking on government's plan on disinvestment, Kumar informed that despite the second Covid wave, markets have remained buoyant and touched new highs, PTI reported.
He added, "I think this sentiment will not only continue but will strengthen as we go forward. India's story remains very strong especially with respect to FDI which has now created a new record both for 2020-21 and between April to June in 2021-22."
Highlighting the increasing number of IPOs of startups, he expressed hope and said that the government's target will be fully realised.
(With inputs from PTI)
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