According to The Times of India, Ficci president Anant Goenka, who serves as vice-chairman of the RPG Group, believes the economic momentum is sustaining, particularly after oil prices moderated. The corporate sector's first quarter performance shows robust overall demand with good growth continuing despite inflationary impacts. As reported by TOI, the positive momentum that emerged post GST 2.0 continues with a good 3-4% uplift on previous baseline levels.
As detailed in the TOI report, the automotive, banking, and telecom sectors have seen generally good momentum, while IT remains under pressure. However, the manufacturing sector faces margin stress that is expected to continue into Q2 due to inventory issues. Goenka emphasized that margin impact will be mixed across sectors, with the manufacturing sector particularly affected by current inventory challenges.
According to The Times of India, the 10% tariffs will be removed this month, with Section 301 bringing similar levels of 10-12% tariffs. Goenka noted this represents an important relationship for India and the country is working closely on competitive advantages. As reported by TOI, the US remains India's largest export market, and Indian exporters are diversifying into other markets while trade deals are being implemented.
As reported by The Times of India, the UK FTA kicked in on Wednesday, with other trade agreements in the pipeline. Goenka highlighted that the potential is very large for these trade deals, with many B2B partnership connections already established. He expects these agreements to become more intense as they get implemented, providing significant opportunities for Indian industries to capitalize on the enhanced trade relationships.
