Editor's Pick: Differing views on India's economic scenario

India's Gross Domestic Product grew by 8.4% in the second quarter of the current financial year, with absolute GDP at.3% above pre-pandemic levels. Based on these numbers, the Finance Ministry’s Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian projected that India will see double digit growth in this financial year. The 8.4% growth compares well with the -7.4% fall that the GDP saw last year in the same quarter, the peak period of the pandemic induced lockdown. The first quarter of this year, however, had seen a 20.1% growth, which puts the number for the first half at 13.7%. With this being the fourth consecutive quarter of growth, the indications are that the economy has found its feet after the pandemic-induced contraction. Employment-intensive sectors like hospitality and construction seeing an uptick is also positive news. Economists, however, see several issues in this growth story. A key one is that it is government investments that are the main drivers of growth now rather than private consumption. Rising inflationary pressures as indicated by the difference between real and nominal GDP is also a matter of concern. Some of the economists are projecting only single digit growth for the year compared to the government's double-digit expectations.These differing perspectives on India's current economic scenario are what make this story important. The Hindu Editorials Protect, don’t pander Sweden’s fresh start Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. Click here Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Who has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of Twitter? 1. Jack Dorsey 2. Bret Taylor 3. Parag Agrawal 4. Mike Derezin To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 01 DECEMBER 2021 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Differing views on India's economic scenario [Differing views on India's economic scenario] India's [Gross Domestic Product grew by 8.4%]( in the second quarter of the current financial year, with absolute GDP at .3% above pre-pandemic levels. Based on these numbers, the Finance Ministry’s Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian projected that India will see double digit growth in this financial year. The 8.4% growth compares well with the -7.4% fall that the GDP saw last year in the same quarter, the peak period of the pandemic induced lockdown. The first quarter of this year, however, had seen a 20.1% growth, which puts the number for the first half at 13.7%. With this being the fourth consecutive quarter of growth, the indications are that the economy has found its feet after the pandemic-induced contraction. Employment-intensive sectors like hospitality and construction seeing an uptick is also positive news. Economists, however, see several issues in this growth story. A key one is that it is government investments that are the main drivers of growth now rather than private consumption. Rising inflationary pressures as indicated by the difference between real and nominal GDP is also a matter of concern. Some of the economists are projecting only single digit growth for the year compared to the government's double-digit expectations.These differing perspectives on India's current economic scenario are what make this story important. [underlineimg] The Hindu Editorials [Arrow][Protect, don’t pander]( [Arrow][Sweden’s fresh start]( [underlineimg]  Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Who has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of Twitter? 1. Jack Dorsey 2. Bret Taylor 3. Parag Agrawal 4. Mike Derezin To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here](. [underlineimg] Today's Best Reads [[Small grant but a big opportunity for local bodies] Small grant but a big opportunity for local bodies]( [[Afghanistan, the rise of a narco-terrorist state] Afghanistan, the rise of a narco-terrorist state]( [[India mulling options over re-opening mission in Afghanistan] India mulling options over re-opening mission in Afghanistan]( [[India’s informal economy has not shrunk] India’s informal economy has not shrunk]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](