CII forecasts 6.8% GDP growth this fiscal

New Delhi: Industry chamber CII expects the country’s economy to grow at 6.8 per cent in the current fiscal and accelerate to seven per cent in 2024-25, driven by the government’s continued focus on infrastructure development and promotion of ease of doing business (EoDB). In an interview with PTI, CII President R Dinesh, who is also the executive vice-chairman of TVS Supply Chain Solutions, said even on a conservative basis, the expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.8 per cent will be more than the 6.5-6.7 per cent estimated earlier by the industry body.

Sharing growth projections, the CII President said: “In the beginning, we had said 6.5-6.7 per cent. Now, actually, we are saying it is going to be 6.8 per cent for this year, and we are looking at seven per cent for next year. Obviously, the first half has given the comfort for 6.8 per cent. In fact, I would say it is a conservative number because if you look at what has happened in the first half, we are being conservative here.”

On the recent State elections, he said the stock market and the industry favour continuity in policy. During the recently held state elections, the BJP won in three major states -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, while the Congress won in Telangana.

“We welcome continuity in policy and making sure that the consensus is for the growth of the country for us, continuity in policy is very important and that’s something that whichever party be in power, we make sure that we communicate that. The stock market is cheering the fact that there is continuity from an approach.”

According to him, India is in a sweet spot, owing to various reasons, including the government’s focus on infrastructure and the push for ease of doing business.