India Development Update, October 2013
Although the recent market turmoil has been driven primarily by external factors, it has magnified India's macroeconomic vulnerabilities. India was just one of a large number of emerging market economies whose currency and capital account were...
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Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
Washington, DC
2014
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Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18403359/india-development-update http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16642 |
Summary: | Although the recent market turmoil has
been driven primarily by external factors, it has magnified
India's macroeconomic vulnerabilities. India was just
one of a large number of emerging market economies whose
currency and capital account were adversely affected by a
large outflow of portfolio investment this summer. The
current downturn presents an opportunity to push ahead with
critical reforms. The current situation is unlikely to place
an insurmountable stress on the economy, but it does offer
an opportunity for measures to strengthen the business
environment, attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),
and increase productivity. The rupee depreciated sharply in
May-August 2013, mainly caused by market fears of an early
end to the Federal Reserve's stimulus program. As
global investors shifted funds into US treasuries, the
May-August fall in the rupee closely mirrored movements in
other emerging market currencies and US T-bonds. The current
account deficit moderated and exports performance improved.
After reaching a record high of 6.5 percent of Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter FY2013, the
current account deficit improved to 3.6 percent of GDP in
the fourth quarter. The decline in poverty has accelerated,
but vulnerability remains high. Between 2005 and 2012, India
lifted 137 million people out of poverty and reduced the
poverty headcount (at the national poverty line) to 22
percent of the population. The depreciation in the rupee is
unlikely to have major adverse effects and provides an
opportunity to accelerate growth through further progress on
the reform agenda. Financing of the gap is expected to come
in roughly equal parts from FDI and institutional flows in
FY2014, with a growing contribution from FDI in FY2015. |
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