India’s economy will grow at a median rate of 6 per cent during the first quarter of the current financial year ended June 30, according to a Ficci report. The country’s economy grew at 8.2 per cent in April-June 2018-19. The growth numbers for the first quarter are expected to be released by the Central Statistics Office next week.
“The recently released unemployment numbers by NSSO reaffirm the grim situation with regard to employment in the country,” said Ficci Economic Outlook Survey.
It pegged the annual median GDP growth forecast for 2019-20 at 6.9 per cent, with a minimum and maximum estimate of 6.7 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively.
The median is the middle number in a sorted, ascending or descending list of numbers which can be more descriptive of a data set than the average.
A majority of the participating economists in the survey suggested the RBI will continue its accomodative stance, with a further cut in the repo rate in the remaining part of 2019-20.
They felt that the prevailing real interest rates were high. They also signalled that tardy deposit growth is haunting the banks as it is limiting their ability to lend and is preventing adequate transmission.