India making steady progress on domestic front though downside risks remain: RBI article
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its article has said that notwithstanding the geopolitical crisis created by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, India is making steady progress on the domestic front as it recovers from the third wave of pandemic though downside risks remain. Observing that India's macroeconomic fundamentals remain strong, it said 'unfolding global developments nevertheless pose downside risks in terms of spillovers. It also said that the ongoing geopolitical crisis has heightened the uncertainty clouding the global macroeconomic and financial landscape even as the world economy struggles to recover from the pandemic.
The article noted that services sector outlets such as restaurants and cinema halls are gradually resuming normal operations, and mobility indicators show significant improvement in March 2022, compared to a year ago. It said with the improvement in mobility and opening up of services sector outlets, electricity generation picked up in March, exceeding the levels of the preceding month and also pre-pandemic levels. Also, the generation of E-way bills remained above pre-pandemic levels. Toll collections also rose in February 2022, despite the waning of base effect.
It further said the resumption in mobility spurred diesel and petrol consumption in February 2022, although a dip in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) dampened total petroleum consumption. Retail sales of automobiles continued to stagnate, with high delivery times impeding registrations. It also pointed out that the gross fiscal deficit plummeted to an all-time low of 58.9 per cent of Revised Estimate (RE) in the Budget during April-January 2021-22.
