There has been some great news for India on the economic front. The country’s foreign exchange reserves have surpassed their all-time high. Along with this, a rise has also been observed in the country’s industrial output. According to government data, India’s industrial output increased by 5.9 per cent in May this year, mainly due to the strong performance of the mining and energy sectors. Factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), witnessed a growth of 5.7 per cent in May 2023.
What do the numbers say?
According to the data, the growth rate of three sectors (mining, manufacturing and electricity) in May 2024 was 6.6 percent, 4.6 percent and 13.7 percent respectively on an annual basis. In May 2023, the growth rate of mining, manufacturing and electricity was 6.4. , 6.3 and 0.9 percent respectively. The capital goods segment grew by 2.5 percent in May, but in the same month last year it expanded by 8.1 percent.
The output of durable consumer goods increased by 12.3 percent during May, while there was a marginal increase of 1.5 percent in 2023. The output of non-durable consumer goods increased by 2.3 percent in May 2023 after an increase of 8.9 percent. Infrastructure and construction-related goods saw a marginal growth of 6.9 percent in May 2024, compared to a year-on-year growth of 13.0 percent. The data also showed that the output of primary products increased by 7.3 percent in May 2024 compared to 3.6 percent in the same period last year.
RBI gave information
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that during the week ended July 5, India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $5,158 billion to $657,155 billion. The foreign exchange reserves had been declining for the past two consecutive weeks, falling by $1,713 billion to $651,997 billion during the week ended June 28. On June 7 this year, the reserves touched an all-time high of $655,817 billion.
Gold storage also increased
According to the RBI report, foreign currency assets, a major component of reserves, rose by $4,228 billion to $577,110 billion during the week ended July 5. The RBI said gold reserves rose by $904 million to $57,432 million during the week. The data showed that India’s reserve position with the IMF rose by $4,578 million to $4,578 million in the week under review.
