Analysis:India's post-COVID spending boom drives two-speed economy

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MUMBAI : India is set to be the world's fastest growing major economy in the year ahead, as a post-pandemic retail boom and recent bank balance-sheet repairs lure new investment, fueling hot demand for everything from cars to televisions, coal and airliners.

The world's fifth-largest economy is expected grow 6 per cent in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, according to a survey by the Indian central bank this month.

While slower than the current fiscal year's projected 6.8 per cent growth, the outlook contrasts with bleaker 2023 projections in the United States, Europe and most noticeably China, a major Asian economic rival where a recent surge in COVID infections is expected to hobble activity next year.

Importantly, conditions are better than not just the crippling slump during India's devastating COVID surge last year but also the anemic growth of the debt-saddled last decade.