Punjab National Bank chief confident of India's robust future economic growth prospects

New Delhi [India], December 1 (ANI): Ashok Chandra, MD and CEO of Punjab National Bank (PNB), on Monday said he is confident that the Indian economy will continue to show robust GDP growth in the coming quarters and years.
"The Indian economy is very robust, despite challenges; our Q2 GDP growth number was 8.2 per cent. In that quarter (July-September), the full impact of the GST reforms did not reflect. The impact of GST rate cuts will be reflected in Q3 GDP numbers. We have a robust economy, and I am very confident that in the coming quarters and years, the economy will clock robust growth. The vibrancy in our economy is set to remain," the state-owned bank's CEO told ANI.
Bank credit, particularly retail credit, credit to MSMEs, agri, vehicle loans, and housing loans, all have showcased robust growth, he further supplemented.
"We foresee strong growth in the coming quarters," he added.
India's real GDP has been estimated to have grown by 8.2 per cent in the July-September quarter of the current financial year 2025-26 over the growth rate of 5.6 per cent in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, official data showed Friday.
India's nominal GDP grew at an 8.7 per cent rate during the September quarter.
In the April-June quarter, India's real GDP grew 7.8 per cent, over the growth rate of 6.5 per cent in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. India's nominal GDP grew at an 8.8 per cent rate during the said quarter.
In 2024-25, the Indian economy grew by 6.5 per cent in real terms. The Reserve Bank of India had projected 6.5 per cent GDP growth for the fiscal year 2024-25.
In 2023-24, India's GDP grew by an impressive 9.2 per cent, continuing to be the fastest-growing major economy.
According to official data, the economy grew 8.7 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively, in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
The Indian economy is poised to register growth north of 7 per cent in the current fiscal 2025-26, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran said Friday, at a post-GDP release presentation.
In the Economic Survey for 2024-25, tabled in Parliament on January 31, the real GDP growth for 2025-26 was projected to be between 6.3 and 6.8 per cent, a projection that has not been revised since then.
The CEA also noted that central government capex and bank credit growth were robust in the September quarter, at 30.7 per cent and 10.8 per cent, respectively. (ANI)