Economic activity to continue unabated: RBI Governor

The revival of economic activity, which has restarted, should continue unabated going forward, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das.

“Our preliminary analysis shows that next year’s estimated growth rate at 10.5 per cent would not require a downward revision,” Das said at the India Economic Conclave.

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To a specific question on whether the ‘V-shaped’ growth could become ‘U-shaped’ growth, the Governor observed that the central bank has never given its forecast for growth in terms of alphabets.

While the renewed surge in Covid-19 cases in many parts of the country is a matter of concern, Das said this time around, compared to where India was last March or April, the country has some additional insurance — vaccine and Covid-19 protocol — against the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

“The first is that there are two vaccines which are being rolled out. And the speed of roll-out is very fast, with about five crore people being vaccinated.

“The second aspect is that overall, people are by and large used to the Covid-19 protocol. It appeared that people had lowered their guard. But I am sure they will step up their guard against the spread of the pandemic,” the Governor said.

“And the third aspect is that, at this point in time, the country is unlikely to see the kind of lockdown which it experienced last year,” he added.