INTHEBLACK June 2022 - Magazine - Page 31
Left: Moonrise over
south central Mumbai,
the financial capital of
India.
AMID PREDICTIONS OF RAPID GROWTH
FOR THE INDIAN ECONOMY, THERE ARE
SOME BARRIERS THE WORLD’S SECONDMOST POPULOUS COUNTRY WILL STILL
HAVE TO CLEAR IF IT HOPES TO ACHIEVE
SUSTAINED SUCCESS DURING THE
PANDEMIC AND BEYOND.
STORY CAMERON COOPER
C
OVID-19 may turn out to be a double-edged
sword for the Indian economy and investors. While
devastating outbreaks of the virus led to debilitating
lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, the pandemic has fasttracked the country’s digital economy and platform-based
delivery services such as fintech.
In areas such as education, healthcare and supply-chain
management, digital innovations have come to the fore. The
fast pace of digitalisation is also maximising the impact of
labour and capital as e-commerce, telecommuting and hybrid
workplaces reshape consumer behaviours and create new
business opportunities.
In effect, these advances have added new weapons to India’s
economic armoury and complement traditional strengths in
manufacturing, agriculture and automobiles.
“The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital
platforms and digital payments and driven a surge in online
retail in India,” says Munish Sharma, Austrade’s trade
commissioner in Chennai. “This has also opened the way for
more exporters to reach the vast Indian consumer market via
e-commerce.”
However, uncertainties remain. Any new COVID-19
outbreaks could stall growth in India. Rising inflation presents
another possible danger to the economy if pent-up demand
leads to supply shortages resulting in higher production costs.
FAST GROWTH
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects India to
have the world’s fastest-growing economy in 2022, rising by
8.2 per cent and outstripping global growth of 4.9 per cent.
In an annual review, the IMF comments that India’s “broad
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