Year 2023: Indian economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. With rising incomes and savings, investment opportunities and a young population, India is assured of rapid growth in the coming decades. In the year 2023, India showed a new way to the world by successfully hosting the G20. Special Correspondent Saurabh Shukla’s report sheds light on strengthening Indian economy…
Sensex Nifty tops
The Sensex and Nifty have hit record highs this year only because of central government policies and investor confidence in the government. All the markets of the world fell prey to recession this year, but the Indian stock market set new records in 2023 one after the other. On December 21, the Sensex hit a new high of 71,913 points and the Nifty hit a new high of 21,593 points.
Be it local investors or foreign investors, everyone wants stability in the market. The present government has proved that it is completely neutral on the issue of stability. On the policy front too, the ease of doing business can be said to be better than in the past several years.
Rapid increase in GST collection
A measure of the economic growth of a country is the government’s earnings through GST. In the last few months, the GST collection has created a record. This year April 2023 saw the highest GST collection since the implementation of GST in the country. This month the figure has reached a record level of Rs 1.87 lakh crore. Not only this, in all the months between April and November in the current financial year, it is Rs. 1.5 lakh crore is above.
If we talk about the year 2023, this figure has been more than 1.5 lakh crore rupees in almost every month except the month of February. So far in the current financial year, net direct tax collection has increased by 20.66 percent to Rs. 13.70 lakh crore has been exceeded. In the month of December itself, the net direct tax collection has reached 75 percent of the budget estimate.
Foreign exchange reserves have increased again
The country’s exports are also increasing at the same pace as the economic strength of India is increasing. An added benefit to exports is that the foreign exchange has once again started to appreciate. On this front, RBI data showed that the country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $604 billion at the beginning of December. Earlier on August 11, it was close to $600 billion.
In October 2021, the country’s foreign exchange reserves reached $642 billion. Then, to stem the decline of the weakening rupee, the RBI injected dollars into the market, leading to a reduction in foreign exchange reserves. But now once again it has crossed 600 billion dollars. This certainly indicates a strong Indian economy.
Control of inflation through strict measures
This year, the public was certainly troubled by the rise in the prices of some essential commodities, but broadly the Reserve Bank has managed to keep them within the prescribed limits. The government has given the Reserve Bank a target of keeping inflation between 4 and 6 percent. El Niño has affected this year, causing many places to face unseasonal and uneven rainfall.
Because of which bad effect was seen on the crop. This was the reason why food prices had increased. Among these too, fruits and vegetables were the most expensive. However, due to the steps taken by the RBI, it was able to bring it into a satisfactory range. RBI had initially raised the repo rate to 6.5 percent in view of rising inflation. This move helped to curb inflation.
Self-sufficiency in semiconductors
In the year 2023, India has taken an important step in the field of chip manufacturing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 28 while inaugurating the Semicon India Conference-2023 in Gujarat invited chip makers from around the world to join semiconductor manufacturing in India. Meanwhile, he said that India does not disappoint anyone. During his state visit to the US, he invited Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra to promote semiconductor manufacturing in India.
Within hours of the meeting, Micron announced its plans to build a new assembly and testing facility in Gujarat with an investment of $825 million. Not only this, companies like Foxconn and Vedanta are also expanding their chip manufacturing operations in India.
2023 is leaving behind many milestones on the economic front.
Even though the year 2023 is passing by, it is leaving many milestones on the economic front, from which we can learn lessons for many years to come. On the economic front, it has been a year in which India not only successfully carried out a historic event while chairing the G20 countries but also showed the entire world that India has the potential to become a powerful economy.
India has made its mark among developed countries as well as developing countries. At the same time, while the economic situation around the world is barely stable, India’s Sensex stands at its peak, showing that if there is any place in the world that is a favorite destination for investors, it is only India.
Economic development of the country increases with employment.
This year, India has emerged as a major manufacturing hub after China. The move towards Make in India has created a distinct identity for India not only in mobiles, automobiles but also in many sectors including textiles. Dozens of companies out of China have expanded their business in India. With the Government’s Incentive Scheme (PLI Scheme), companies from all over the world have set up their plants in India. It has certainly given employment to people. Along with this, the speed of economic development of the country also increased.
Ease of doing business by the Indian government has played an important role in this high economic growth. India is becoming a major hub for buying goods for all major countries of the world. A country like America has also increased its trust in India for its textiles and other important purchases. Earlier this purchase was from China. This change is being seen from other countries as well.
A new economic connectivity corridor from India to Europe was also agreed upon during the G20 summit. In a way this is also being considered as sabotage of China’s BRI project. In this meeting, India gave a clear message that the whole world is one family. The success of India’s foreign policy can be estimated from the fact that the process of signing a free trade agreement with countries like Britain and Australia in the year 2023 is gaining momentum. These agreements are possible with many more countries in the coming years.
GDP of India
As this year has passed, many economic experts around the world have revised and increased India’s GDP estimates. There are clear signs of it staying above seven percent. What’s more, rating agencies around the world have clearly expressed their expectation that it will continue to rise in the coming years. It has been a year in which Russia-Ukraine as well as the war between Israel and Gaza has been a major global challenge. Despite this, India has managed to maintain its strong economic growth rate in the year 2023.
As far as the Gross Domestic Product is concerned, various rating agencies and organizations related to the economic world are estimating India’s GDP to be between 6.5 to 8 percent. The Reserve Bank of India has projected GDP growth of 7 percent for the current and next financial years. At the same time, according to industry chamber FICCI, it can remain up to 8 percent.