The Ministry of Finance recently released the Monthly Economic Review for March 2021. According to the report, the Indian Economy is recovering from COVID-19 crisis. The report has highlighted several indicators that prove economic recovery in the country.
Key Findings of the report
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The Agricultural sector remains the bright spot of the Indian Economy. The food grain production touched 303.3 million tonnes in 2020-21. This is the highest in the five years.
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The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has acted as the strong pillar to insulate the rural economy during the COVID-19 crisis. The MGNREGS has achieved this by creating 383.8 crore person days of employment in 2020-21. This is 44.7% higher as compared to that of the previous year. The Central Government used the MGNREGS working hours to complete Jal Jeevan mission during COVID-19 crisis. This was mainly done to support the livelihood of migrant workers and also to support workers in informal sectors. Also the GoI had increased the wages under the scheme.
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Monthly GST collections attained an all-time high in March 2021 since its inception.
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The PMI Manufacturing Index for the month of March 2021 was 55.4.
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Power consumption showed a strong consistent recovery registering 22.8% growth.
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Railway freight transport achieved a double-digit growth of 23.7%.
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Exports climbed up to the highest since the inception of COVID-19 crisis and stood at 34 billion USD. Healthy growth of exports was observed mainly in jewellery, engineering, gems and pharmaceuticals.
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Crude oil prices increased averaging 64.7 USD/bbl in March 2021. In February 2021, the crude oil prices stood at 61.2 USD/bbl.
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Money supply growth stood at 12.6% in March 2021.
Conclusion
The report concluded that India is currently facing gradual yet steady recovery in overall credit growth.