The News
India’s real GDP growth fell to a multi-quarter low of 5.4% in the second quarter of 2024, according to official figures released Friday.
Economists told Reuters ahead of the release that private consumption, which accounts for about 60% of the country’s GDP, had been affected by higher flood inflation, borrowing costs, and ”sluggish″ real wage growth.
But increased government spending is driving a more positive long-term outlook, analysts said: India could overtake Japan next year to be the world’s fourth-largest economy, The Economist wrote, benefiting from geopolitical tensions over China’s rise, and because ”capital will be attracted to India’s liquid stockmarkets and the inclusion of its bonds in global indices.”
India’s central bank governor also said the country is well positioned to handle global economic shocks that might result from US President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House.