India to grow at over 7% in FY23, says CEA Anantha Nageswaran

CEA said the world is still undergoing the aftereffects of COVID pandemic and the ongoing war in Europe triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on September 20, 2022 said Indian economy will grow at over 7%, down from above 8% of growth rate projected in January.

He, however, said that the economic momentum and the animal spirits are "unmistakable".

"India's own growth rates have come off the projections made in January down to about 7-plus per cent for the current financial year," Mr. Nageswaran said speaking at Global Fintech Fest event in Mumbai.

He said the world is still undergoing the aftereffects of COVID pandemic and the ongoing war in Europe triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, suggesting that these factors are hurting growth.

The economic survey released before the annual budget in January this year has estimated FY23 growth to come at 8-8.5%. The RBI has estimated the GDP to grow at 7.2%, but some analysts have said that there will be a downward revision of the estimate soon.

Mr. Nageswaran said India is well-poised to sustain the 7% growth per year during the remainder of the decade as well.

Speaking at the event on fintech, Mr. Nageswaran said the government is moving from financial inclusion to financial empowerment and the focus in the decade to 2030 is on helping people access financial services like credit and insurance using the base of the accounts opened earlier.