State of the economy report: Outlook remains upbeat, says RBI.

While the global economy remains hostage to heightened uncertainty with Omicron sparking fresh containment measures, a host of incoming high frequency indicators are looking upbeat and consumer confidence is gradually returning in India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said.

For the Indian economy, the recovery is spearheaded by an uptick in private investment through November-December alongside a turnaround in bank credit offtake and high capex from the government sector (Centre and States), it said. “In conjunction, the employment situation has brightened. The outlook remains upbeat, though concerns revolving around the spread of the new Omicron variant are surfacing,” the RBI said in its ‘State of the economy’ report. The Indian economy bounced back strongly in Q2 of 2021-22, with GDP surpassing its pre-pandemic levels, and inflation broadly aligning with the target, the RBI said.