India's Economy Likely To Grow 6.4-6.7 Percent In FY26: CII President
Underlining the need for a balanced and reasonable FTA between India and the US, the president also said that there are tricky areas having political ramifications, which could be tackled at a later date as India is currently negotiating an FTA with the US.
New Delhi: Leading industry body Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) on Thursday said that the Indian economy is expected to grow between 6.4 to 6.7 per cent. Highlighting the magnitude of the current unprecedented geopolitical global shocks, it has also said that India continues to lead as the world’s fastest-growing major economy amidst global flux. Besides, the industry body is also hopeful that there will be a balanced and reasonable free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the US in the initial phase.
“Indian economy is expected to grow by 6.4-6.7 per cent during the current financial year driven by strong domestic demand, even as geopolitical uncertainty poses downside risks. If India has to capitalise on the opportunity, it will need to undertake more economic reforms, win the artificial intelligence or AI race and address and job impact, grow high end and employment intensive manufacturing,” said Rajiv Memani, newly appointed CII president in his maiden press conference here.
Underlining the need for a balanced and reasonable FTA between India and the US, the president also said that there are tricky areas having political ramifications, which could be tackled at a later date as India is currently negotiating an FTA with the US. India is reluctant to open access to sensitive agriculture and dairy sectors to the US industry, as opening the farm sector could jeopardise the interest of farmers. Also, India does not want to open the dairy sector because of religious sensitivities.
When asked about the development, he said, “I do know that the level of preparation that the ministry of commerce has done, and the engagement that they have had with industry, the engagement that they have had with various industries, in the ministry of agriculture has been very limited. And I feel very confident that the challenges of Indian industry, and particularly some sectors mentioned, agriculture and those will be adequately addressed,” he added.
On the Indian economy, Memani further said that factors including a good monsoon forecast, and enhanced liquidity emanating from the Reserve Bank's CRR cut, and interest rate reduction will support the country’s economic growth.
Observing that there are some obvious risks, he also said that a lot of these relate to external trade risk. “I think a lot of them have been factored in, and also there are some upside. So hopefully they should get balanced out. From an industry view, we’re still looking at 6.4-6.7 per cent growth. Risks to growth are evenly balanced, and geopolitical uncertainty poses downside risks whereas strong domestic demand is an upside,” he added.