Indian economy witnessing strong recovery: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the Indian economy is witnessing a strong recovery after a long and strict lockdown.

Addressing a press conference to announce more stimulus measures to boost growth, she said macro-economic indicators are pointing towards recovery.

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COVID-19 active cases have declined from over 10 lakh to 4.89 lakh with case fatality rate (CFR) at 1.47%, she said.

Giving out details of recovery, she said composite purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 58.9% in October versus 54.6% in the previous month, registering strongest increase in output in close to nine years.

Energy consumption growth trended higher in October at 12% year-on-year, while Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections have grown 10% to over ₹1.05 lakh crore.

Daily railway freight tonnage grew by an average 20% year-on-year versus 12%, she said adding bank credit has improved 5.1%.

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Also, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in April-August at $35.37 billion has seen a 13 % rise on a year-on-year basis.

RBI has predicted a strong likelihood of Indian economy returning to positive growth in Q3 2020-21, ahead by a quarter from the earlier forecast, she said adding prominent economists have suggested that the rebound is not only due to pent up demand but also due to strong economic growth.