India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world as per the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and it is expected to be one of the top three economic powers of the world over the next 10-15 years, backed by its strong democracy and partnerships.
Market size: India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.3 per cent in July-September 2017 quarter as per the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO). Corporate earnings in India are expected to grow by over 20 per cent in FY 2017-18 supported by normalisation of profits, especially in sectors like automobiles and banks.
The tax collection figures between April-June 2017 Quarter show an increase in Net Indirect taxes by 30.8 per cent and an increase in Net Direct Taxes by 24.79 per cent year-on-year, indicating a steady trend of healthy growth. The total number of e-filed Income Tax Returns rose 21 per cent year-on-year to 42.1 million in 2016-17 (till 28.02.17), whereas the number of e-returns processed during the same period stood at 43 million.
India has retained its position as the third largest startup base in the world with over 4,750 technology startups, with about 1,400 new start-ups being founded in 2016, according to a report by NASSCOM.
India’s labour force is expected to touch 160-170 million by 2020, based on rate of population growth, increased labour force participation, and higher education enrolment, among other factors. India’s foreign exchange reserves were US$ 404.92 billion in the week up to December 22, 2017.
Recent Developments
With the improvement in the economic scenario, there have been various investments in various sectors of the economy. The M&A activity in India increased 53.3 per cent to US$ 77.6 billion in 2017 while private equity (PE) deals reached US$ 24.4 billion. Some of the important recent developments in Indian economy are as follows:
- Indian companies raised Rs 1.6 trillion (US$ 24.96 billion) through primary market in 2017.
- Moody’s upgraded India’s sovereign rating after 14 years to Baa2 with a stable economic outlook.
- India received net investments of US$ 17.412 million from FIIs between April-October 2017.
- The top 100 companies in India are leading in the world in terms of disclosing their spending on corporate social responsibility (CSR), according to a 49-country study by global consultancy giant, KPMG.
- The bank recapitalisation plan by Government of India is expected to push credit growth in the country to 15 per cent.
- India has improved its ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report by 30 spots over its 2017 ranking and is ranked 100 among 190 countries.
- India’s ranking in the world has improved to 126 in terms of its per capita GDP, based on purchasing power parity (PPP) as it increased to US$ 7,170 in 2017.
- The Government of India has saved US$ 10 billion in subsidies through direct benefit transfers with the use of technology, Aadhaar and bank accounts.
- India is expected to have 100,000 startups by 2025, which will create employment for 3.25 million people and US$ 500 billion in value.
- The total projected expenditure of Union Budget 2018-19 is Rs 23.4 lakh crore (US$ 371.81 billion), 9 per cent higher than previous year’s budget, as laid out in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).
- India received the highest ever inflow of equity in the form of foreign direct investments (FDI) worth US$ 43.4 billion in 2016-17.
