Asian Development Outlook

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts India’s GDP growth to moderate to 7.5% in 2022-23.

About Asian Development Outlook –

• The Asian Development Outlook is a series of annual economic reports on the developing member countries (DMCs) of the Asian Development Bank.
• The ADO provides a comprehensive analysis of macroeconomic and development issues for the DMCs of ADB.
• It analyses economic and development issues in developing countries in Asia. This includes forecasting the inflation and GDP growth rates of countries throughout the region, including China and India.

What does the report say?

• The report forecasts India’s GDP growth to moderate to 7.5% in 2022-23 from an estimated 8.9% in 2021-22. However, the report says that the growth will pick up to reach 8% in 2023-2024.
• The report noted that oil prices will exert upward pressure on the inflation front. However, the impact on inflation would be moderated by fuel subsidies and oil refineries stocking up on cheap crude from the Russian Federation.
• It predicted an average inflation rate of 5.8% in 2022-23, and 5% in 2023-24. The report mentions identifying the mobilisation of domestic resources as a key challenge at ‘all levels of government’. This is due to the fact that India’s tax to GDP ratio of about 17% has been largely unchanged since the early 1990s. Mobilising resources was particularly challenging for the State governments.

About Asian Development Bank (ADB) –

• It is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 and is headquartered in Manila (Philippines).
• It aims to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia. It also aims for an Asia and Pacific free from poverty.
• The bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), formerly known as the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East) and non-regional developed countries.
• Currently, it has 67 members – of which 48 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
• ADB was modelled closely on the World Bank, and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with member’s capital subscriptions.
• Japan holds the largest proportions of shares at 15.67%. The United States holds 15.56%, China holds 6.47%, India holds 6.36%, and Australia holds 5.81%.
• ADB focuses on five core areas of operations: infrastructure; the environment, including climate change; regional cooperation and integration; finance sector development; and education.