Is India Inc. the “bright spot” in the global economic slowdown?

The Reserve Bank of India predicts that India will continue to maintain its position as the fifth-largest economy in the world in 2023. The report further said India is likely to become a USD 3.7 trillion economy in 2023 and will continue its lead, despite the slowdown in the global economy.
India’s real GDP contracted in the 2020-21 financial year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it saw a strong bounce back in 2021-22 due to a combination of accommodating monetary and fiscal policies and wide-scale vaccine coverage. In 2022, India emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies worldwide, despite major challenges in the global economy such as disruption of global supply chains due to geopolitical tensions, overall tightening of monetary policies and increased inflationary pressures. India’s gross domestic product (GDP) touched the $3.75 trillion -mark in June 2023, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman calling India a “bright spot” in the world economy. At current prices, India’s GDP ranks above the United Kingdom (USD 3,159 billion), France ( USD 2,924 billion), Canada (USD 2,089 billion), Russia (USD 1,840 billion), and Australia (USD 1,550 billion). While India Inc’s performance in the 2022-23 financial year was stellar, global uncertainties and slowdown put a huge question mark on the country’s performance for the 2023-24 financial year. However, recent data revisions suggest the economy has fared better than previously believed despite continuing global uncertainties. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects India to grow by 5.9% in FY 2023–24 and at an average rate of 6.1% over the next five years.