The RBI’s monthly bulletin released on Tuesday expects a fresh round of capital expenditure by the corporate sector to fuel the next leg of growth in the Indian economy and has pegged the GDP growth rate at 7 percent for the fourth quarter of the current financial year ending on 31st March, 2024. The RBI bulletin is upbeat on consumer price inflation coming off its November-December spikes in its January 2024 reading, while core inflation is at its lowest since October 2019.
The Indian economy continues to sustain the momentum achieved in the first half of 2023-24, going by high frequency indicators,” the bulletin states. Consumer confidence strengthened further in January 2024, driven especially by optimism about the general economic situation and employment conditions, as per the RBI’s latest survey of households.
It also states that high frequency indicators point towards sustained strength in demand conditions in the economy during January 2024. E-way bills grew by 13.2 per cent in December 2023. Toll collections expanded by 15.5 per cent year-on-year in January 2024, although they sequentially moderated from a record in the previous month.
Automobile sales had registered an expansion of 23.3 per cent year-on-year in January with two wheeler sales recording double digit growth. Retail tractor sales recorded a seven-month high growth at 21.2 percent year-on-year in January 2024. Vehicle registrations recorded strong year-on-year growth.
