‘Budget must focus on consumption, capex, jobs’

Confederation of Indian Industry CID) president Sanjiv Puri is confident that India’s GDP will grow in the range of 6.4%-6.7%, but thinks there are five things the Union Budget could do to accelerate the country’s growth. Edited excerpts from an interview:

- Rajeev Jayaswal

This Monday (January 6) Indian share market fell sharply on concerns over Q3 earnings. This came on the heels of a lower-thanexpected GDP growth estimate for 2024-25. In your assessment, what is the situation on the ground? Will we achieve a growth rate on the upper side of the official range of 6.5% to 7%?

Despite a challenging global environment, India's structural demand drivers are firmly in place, imparting resilience to the economy. CII expects the economy to grow in the range of 6.4-6.7% in FY25. While the forecast is lower than the 8.2% growth recorded in the previous fiscal, it reflects a transition to stable growth, as the pent-up demand from the pandemic subsides and the economy grows closer to its long-term potential.

Moreover, the growth forecast remains reasonably healthy in the face of the rising global uncertainties.

With a continued emphasis on reforms and support from the domestic demand drivers of consumption and investment, we expect the Indian economy to move to a higher growth trajectory in the next year.

What could the Union Budget do to sustain and accelerate economic growth?

Since the presentation of the full budget for FY25 in July 2024, various transitory factors, primarily stemming from global and weather-related changes, have caused a slowdown in consumption and investment.