India Will Register Growth Rate Of 6.5% By End Of FY25 Feel Economists, Though Individuals Hold Different View |
India will be ending FY25 with a growth rate of 6.5%, which is quite impressive. The two lacunae, if they are to be called so, during the year were the tepid growth in consumption and private sector investment (which was not broad-based but sector-specific). On consumption, there is a dualistic story where the rural population tended to spend more while urban consumption lagged. The reason was high inflation, which came in the way of the purchasing power. But the CPI inflation numbers, which are used at the policy level, reveal a positive tendency, as inflation rates had been coming downwards and ended at 3.3% for March. There are, hence, two rather distinct views on the economy: as perceived by economists, who go by hard data, and as perceived by individuals, who base their view on personal experience.
In this context, it is compelling to take a look at the RBI’s consumer confidence survey, which tells us how individuals feel about the state of the economy. The RBI’s consumer confidence survey is carried out every two months and covers around 6000 households. These households give their view on certain parameters based on their perceptions. The table below gives the proportion of households who felt that a certain parameter improved in March 2025 compared to last year. The proportion for the same parameter is also provided for March 2024, where perceptions were compared over March 2023.
Source: RBI
The table shows one unequivocal........