FPI INFLOWS TO BOOST INDIA'S BUSINESS

Fin min’s monthly economic report highlights three pillars of this buoyancy.

- NIVEDITA MUKHERJEE

India is experiencing a business renaissance which is sparking growth and optimism from a slew of signals across multiple economic indicators in March 2024, suggesting surging and robust business activity. The month of March marked significant milestones, from record-breaking performances in the stock market to remarkable advancements in tax revenue collection even as overall, India continues to be the fastest-growing major economy with positive assessments of the growth outlook for the current financial year, for India by international organisations and the Reserve Bank of India. Accordingly, the IMF, in its April 2024 WEO has revised upwards its estimate of India’s real GDP growth for FY2023-24 to 7.8 per cent from 6.7 per cent in its January 2024 update and 6.3 per cent in its October 2023 WEO.

Drawing attention to the resilience of India’s business activity, the Finance Ministry’s monthly economic report (MER) highlights three pillars of this buoyancy. The Indian stock market witnessed another bullish run as both the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex 30 indices soared to new heights. In March 2024, the Nifty 50 opened with a record high of 22,048.3, ultimately surging to an all-time peak of 22,526.6. Similarly, the BSE Sensex 30 commenced trading with a historic high of 72,606.3, reaching an unprecedented pinnacle of 74,245.2, the Finance Ministry notes.