Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: India’s growth prospects are “very good” and its banking sector has recovered remarkably, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a session during the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Summit at Davos, Switzerland, he said there is a lot of global confidence in India and the macroeconomic and financial sector stability that the South Asian country offers to investors.
“…I think we need to really look back at the business opportunity in India. Because this is the right time to build into the Indian ecosystem,” he said and emphasized that the country’s growth prospects are very good because of the structural reforms undertaken in recent years.
Despite various shocks and crises, Das said, the Indian banking sector has seen a remarkable recovery, the media reported.
“The Indian banking sector is perhaps at one of its best in recent years… the financial sector is very stable… the external sector is also stable notwithstanding that the global growth is slowing down…India’s services sector is growing,” he said.
Asserting that these factors are not one-off developments, India’s central bank chief cited the example of the regulatory architecture of the government and private sector banks and the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
“They are providing the foundations for the belief in the Indian growth momentum…,” he said.
Earlier this month, the National Statistical Office (NSO) projected the Indian economy to grow at 7.3 percent in 2023-24 against 7.2 percent in the previous fiscal.
About cryptocurrency, Das said it’s not a currency. It has the potential to become one but is fraught with risks as it can affect the banking system.
“But I can say the blockchain technology could be put to many good uses as it has got many applications.”
Speaking about the hugely successful Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Das said “We have signed MoUs with several countries to provide support to them in the development fast payment system. It will be a game changer because it will facilitate cross-border payments. The UPI has become an international model.”
About inflationary trends in India, he said core inflation in the country is diminishing which demonstrates the efficacy of monetary policy.