No prospect of recession in India, economy to grow 6%-7% in next fiscal: Rajiv Kumar

The former Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman said that synchronized downturn in the U.S., Europe, Japan and also in China could take the global economy into a recession in the coming months.

India will still grow at 6%-7% in the next 2023-24 fiscal even as the economy may be affected by uncertain global conditions, former Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said amid growing fears of the world slipping into a recession.

Mr. Kumar further said there is a synchronized downturn in the U.S., Europe, Japan and also in China and that could take the global economy into a recession in the coming months.

"Thankfully, there is no such prospect of recession in India, because although our growth may be negatively affected by the global conditions, we will still manage to grow at 6-7 per cent in 2023-24," he told PTI in an interview.

The World Bank on October 6 projected a 6.5% growth rate for the Indian economy for 2022-23, a drop of one percentage point from its June 2022 projections, citing the deteriorating international environment, while IMF projected a growth rate of 6.8% in 2022 as compared to 8.7% in 2021 for India.

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has said the global economy is moving from a world of relative predictability to one of greater uncertainty.

Replying to a question on high inflation, Mr. Kumar said retail inflation will probably be in the range of  6-7% for some more time.

"After that, my estimate is that it should begin to peak and then come down," he said.