New Delhi: Industry body FICCI has termed Q2 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) number as encouraging and has stressed the need to maintain uptick in demand by extending further support.  

“The Q2 2021-22 GDP at 8.4 per cent is within the expected range. The decline in case load and the momentum in vaccination pace over the period July to September kept the economic recovery on track. The incoming lead indicators have been robust, and the optimism witnessed during the just gone by festive season was encouraging. Demand has been gaining traction which is gradually manifesting into an uptick in investment activity,” said Uday Shankar, President, FICCI.

“However, at this point in time we are standing at a turning point. Going forward, it will be important that the uptick in growth is maintained, even if it implies extending further support. The extension of schemes like ECLGS, PMGKY is positive. Furthermore, we are hopeful that the Reserve Bank of India will continue to take cognizance of the ground situation in the monetary policy announcement next week and will give some more time for green shoots to firm up,” added Shankar.

“Moreover, in light of the recent developments it remains important to keep a close watch on the evolving Covid-19 situation. Momentum on the vaccination front needs to continue. Also, we should not fall behind on testing, surveillance and genome sequencing,” said Shankar. /BI/