Current Affairs - Economy

India's net direct tax collections surged by 21.8% to ₹9.57 lakh crore by October 9, 2023, exceeding half of the annual Budget estimates.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its October 2023 World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, revised India's economic growth forecast for the fiscal year 2023-24. This adjustment saw the growth projection climb from 6.1% to 6.3% as a result of stronger-than-anticipated consumption during the April-June period.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released its quarterly bulletin of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), shedding light on the urban unemployment situation in India during the first quarter of the fiscal year. The PLFS bulletin revealed that the urban unemployment rate in India in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24 was 6.6%.

The fiscal deficit is the difference between the government's revenue and expenditure. It is expressed as a percentage of GDP. India's fiscal deficit target for FY24 is 5.9% of GDP. However, the fiscal deficit for the April-August period in FY24 stood at Rs 6.42 trillion, which is 36% of the full-year target. This indicates that the government is on track to exceed its fiscal deficit target for the year.

The RBI has not announced any interest rate cuts in its recent monetary policy announcement. On the contrary, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das emphasized the central bank’s commitment to achieving a durable 4% inflation target while keeping benchmark interest rates unchanged for the fourth consecutive meeting.