Indian economy witnessing strong recovery, says Nirmala Sitharaman; announces stimulus measures

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the Indian economy is witnessing a strong recovery after a long and strict lockdown.

Addressing a press conference to announce more stimulus measures to boost growth, she said macro-economic indicators are pointing towards recovery.

active cases have declined from over 10 lakh to 4.89 lakh with case fatality rate (CFR) at 1.47 percent, she said.

Giving out details of recovery, she said composite purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 58.9 percent in October versus 54.6 percent in the previous month, registering strongest increase in output in close to nine years.

Energy consumption growth trended higher in October at 12 percent year-on-year, while Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections have grown 10 percent to over Rs 1.05 lakh crore.

Daily railway freight tonnage grew by an average 20 percent year-on-year versus 12 percent, she said adding bank credit has improved 5.1 percent.

Also, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in April-August at $35.37 billion has seen a 13 percent rise on a year-on-year basis.

RBI has predicted a strong likelihood of Indian economy returning to positive growth in Q3 2020-21, ahead by a quarter from the earlier forecast, she said adding prominent economists have suggested that the rebound is not only due to pent up demand but also due to strong economic growth.