‘Macro buffers to help India navigate global headwinds’ – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Strong macroeconomic buffers of India should help the real sectors of economy navigate the external headwinds smoothly and continue the growth momentum of the previous year, a finance ministry report said on Friday. The ministry’s monthly economic review for April also said the positive indications in the farm sector should help India firewall against any adverse pressures that may arise from geopolitical tensions and global commodity prices.
But the report cautioned that the unrelenting geopolitical tensions and volatility in global commodity prices, especially of petroleum products, present substantial multi-frontal challenges.

It said early indications suggest a continuation of the economic momentum during the first quarter of FY25. The emerging robust trends in high-frequency indicators of growth such as the GST collections, e-way bills, electronic toll collections, sale of vehicles, purchasing managers’ indices and the value and number of digital transactions attest to the growing strength of the economy, the report added.
“Thus, the major pillars of India’s macroeconomic strength, including growth, price stability and fiscal management, are directionally positive and mutually reinforcing,” said the report prepared by the department of economic affairs.
It said that going forward, the inflation trajectory would be influenced by several factors and asserted that govt initiatives, including the open market sales, monitoring of stocks, import of pulses, and export restrictions, are expected to help stabilise food prices.