Eco-Survey says Indian economy to grow 6-6.8% next fiscal year but...

New Delhi: India's economy is projected to slow to 6-6.8 percent in the fiscal year starting April - still remaining the fastest growing major economy in the world - as extraordinary challenges facing the globe will likely hurt exports, the Economic Survey said on Tuesday.

The projection of India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth is higher than the 6.1 percent estimate of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and compares with the survey's estimated 7 percent expansion in the current fiscal year (April 2022 to March 2023) and 8.7 percent in the previous year. The survey that details the state of the economy was tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman a day before she presents Union Budget 2023-24.

"At least three shocks have hit the global economy since 2020," the report, prepared by Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, said. Starting with the pandemic-induced contraction of the global output, the Russian-Ukraine conflict last year led to a worldwide surge in inflation.

And then, central banks across economies led by the US Federal Reserve responded with synchronised policy rate hikes to curb inflation. The survey stated that the inflation projection by RBI at 6.8 per cent for FY23 is above the central bank's tolerance limit but the pace of price increase is not high enough to deter private consumption or low enough to weaken investment.