Reserve Bank retains economic growth projection at 7.2% for current fiscal year

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India on Friday retained its growth projection at 7.2 per cent for the current fiscal as it sees improvement in urban demand and gradual recovery in rural India aided by normal monsoon.

Unveiling the fourth monetary policy for the current fiscal, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank remains committed to price stability to put the country on the sustained path of growth.

The RBI expects growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal at 16.2 per cent, which will taper to 4 per cent by the fourth quarter.

Das, however, cautioned that there are risks from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The central bank in April slashed the GDP growth projection for 2022-23 to 7.2 per cent from its earlier forecast of 7.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday said India is unlikely to be impacted by any adverse developments in Taiwan.

The Governor said Taiwan accounts for only 0.7 per cent of India's overall trade and the capital flows from the island are also not very high.

This week witnessed rising tensions between Taiwan and China, triggered by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island nation which Beijing views as a breakaway province. A belligerent China has tested missiles and sent 100 warplanes and 10 warships for live-fire military drills in the close vicinity of Taiwan.

"...so far as India is concerned, you know, our trade with Taiwan is miniscule. It's about 0.7 per cent of our total trade. So therefore the impact on India is expected to be very, very, very negligible," Das told reporters here.

He added that capital flows from Taiwan in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) and other instruments are also very low.

"So, therefore India is not really going to be impacted with regard to what's happening or what is likely to happen in Taiwan," he said.

Quizzed about the developments in Sri Lanka, Das said any discussions will be done by the governments.

The RBI only studies the economic developments with regard to the ramification on the Indian economy, he added.