The year 2024 has been very challenging for the world in
many ways on the economic front. The Iran-Israel war that broke out this year
and the long-running Russia-Ukraine conflict have slowed down the pace of the
global economy. On top of this, due to these circumstances, signs of economic
recession have started appearing in many countries due to economic restrictions
imposed across the world. Some effect of this was also visible on the Indian
economy, but India overcame all the challenges and performed well in many areas.
In 2024, India was crowned the fastest growing economy in the world.
Institutions like Reserve Bank of India, Asian Development Bank and IMF believe
that GDP of the other countries will be less than that of India. (See Table)
GDP of seven countries of the world in the year 2024 (in
percent)
1.India has
signed a free trade agreement with four European countries this year. 10 lakh
jobs will be created in the next 15 years. These include Switzerland, Norway,
Iceland and Liechtenstein.
2.There is
huge momentum on the tax collection front, GST collection has reached a record
high of INR 2.10 lakh crore in April 2024.
3.On
September 20, foreign exchange reserves increased from $ 2.84 billion to a
record of $ 692.30 billion.
4.Foreign
direct investment inflows have crossed $1 trillion from April 2000 to September
2024.
5.The urban
unemployment rate has come down to 6.4 percent in the second quarter of the
financial year 2024-25
Challenges Facing the Economy
The main challenges facing the Indian economy are population
density, poverty, unemployment, decline in wages, manufacturing, poor education
and increase in private loan. The rupee is weakening against the dollar. And
for the first time it has crossed 85. There is no relief from inflation. The
Reserve Bank has set a target of keeping inflation below four percent but it
was 5.48% in November, 6.21% in October and 5.49% in September. Due to the
record surge in gold imports, the trade deficit has increased by 77.56 percent
from a year ago to an all-time high of $ 37.84 billion.
To give impetus to the economy amidst these challenges, the
government has prepared a better road, air and port network in the country, so
that industrial development can be accelerated. The government has identified
11 industrial corridors in the country, along which 20 industrial smart cities
are going to be built. To attract investment, the target is to increase the
number of airports to 250 in 10 years, while by 2047 the number will cross 400.
There is also a target to construct 50-thousand-kilometre-long Access Control
Greenfield Express-way.
