India Surpasses Japan to become 3rd Largest Auto Market Globally

India Surpasses Japan to become 3rd Largest Auto Market Globally

• India Surpasses Japan to become 3rd Largest Auto Market Globally
• India has surpassed Japan in terms of auto sales last year to become the third-largest auto market globally for the first time. 
• India’s total sales of new vehicles stood at around 4.25 million units, based on preliminary results, topping the 4.2 million sold in Japan. 
• While new vehicles that got delivered in India totalled 4.13 million during the period of January – November 2022. December’s sales led the total to hit the 4.25 million unit’s mark. 
• The figure for sales of new vehicles in India may witness even bigger rise as the country further expects inclusion of pending fourth-quarter sales data for commercial vehicles, along with year-end results yet to be released by Tata Motors and other automakers.
• India is home to 1.4 billion people, and its population is expected to outstrip China by early 2060s which is leading the global auto market, with 26.27 million vehicles sold this year.

India’s GDP likely to grow 7% this fiscal, says NSO

• India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to slip to 7 per cent in the current fiscal ending March 2023 owing to weak demand.
• India had recorded an 8.7 per cent GDP growth in 2021-22. If the forecast by the National Statistical Office (NSO) holds true, India’s GDP growth will be lower than Saudi Arabia’s expected 7.6 per cent expansion. Although the projections are much lower than government’s earlier forecast of 8-8.5 per cent growth, they are above the Reserve Bank’s projection of 6.8 per cent.
• The NSO predicted the output of the manufacturing sector to decelerate to 1.6 per cent as against a growth of 9.9 per cent in FY22. Similarly, mining sector growth is estimated at 2.4 per cent in the current fiscal as against 11.5 per cent in 2021-22.

Taming inflation is top priority for South Asian nations, says RBI’s Das

• Taming inflation is the top priority for South Asian countries as risks to growth and investment outlook could rise if price pressures persist at high levels.
• The RBI chief said policy challenges in the region have sharpened due to the COVID­19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
• While the recent softening of commodity prices and supply chain bottlenecks should help in lowering inflation going ahead, risks to growth and investment outlook may rise if inflation persists at high levels.