The Reserve Bank’s monthly bulletin for December 2024 has indicated that the Indian economy is recovering from the slowdown witnessed in the second quarter, driven by strong festival activity and a sustained upswing in rural demand. As per the ‘State of the Economy’ article authored by a team led by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra, the prospects for agriculture and rural consumption are looking up with the brisk expansion of rabi sowing. The article further informs that headline CPI inflation moderated to 5.5 percent in November 2024 on the back of easing food prices. It adds that the global economy too continues to exhibit resilience with steady growth and moderating inflation.

An article titled ‘Government Finances 2024-25: A Half-Yearly Review’ states that the Centre’s revenue collections, comprising both tax and non-tax sources, have been buoyant in the first half of the financial year 2024-25. The authors believe that the robust growth in tax receipts was primarily driven by income tax and goods and services tax, while non-tax revenues benefitted from the jump in surplus transfer by the Reserve Bank. On the expenditure front, the article says that even though revenue expenditure is on track to meet the budgeted targets, there is a slack in the capital expenditure.

RBI has added that the views expressed in the Bulletin articles are of the authors and do not represent the views of the apex bank.