The Centre has announced another stimulus package to boost the Indian economy and while addressing the media on Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the economy is witnessing a strong recovery after the prolonged and strict lockdown.
Addressing a press conference to announce the stimulus measures to boost growth, Sitharaman said macro-economic indicators are pointing towards recovery of the Indian economy.
Sitharaman also pointed at the decline in active Covid-19 cases in India and said the active case numbers have declined from over 10 lakh to 4.89 lakh with case fatality rate (CFR) at 1.47%.
Giving out details of recovery of the Indian economy, Sitharaman said composite purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 58.9% in October versus 54.6% in the previous month, registering strongest increase in output in close to nine years.
Energy consumption growth trended higher in October at 12% year-on-year, while Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections have grown 10 per cent to over Rs 1.05 lakh crore.
Daily railway freight tonnage grew by an average 20% year-on-year versus 12%, she said adding bank credit has improved 5.1%.
Also, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in April-August at $35.37 billion has seen a 13% 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, Sitharaman said, adding prominent economists have suggested that the rebound is not only due to pent up demand but also due to strong economic growth.