Budget 2022: The first step to the countdown begins with GDP today

Budget 2022 countdown officially begins with the National Statistical Office (NSO) providing the advance GDP estimate today for the current financial year ending March 31. It is on the basis of this growth number that the Finance Ministry works out what next year's growth and budget requirements will look like.

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Forecast of leading economists as well as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) place the real GDP growth for the current year between 9.3 percent and 9.5 percent. This compares to a contraction of 7.3% last year.

But it is not growth of the current fiscal that most will eye as the IMF quoted the real growth trajectory for India will be revealed only in 2022. All eyes will remain on poll bound states where net state domestic product has been hit the most, with Uttar Pradesh seeing a -6.7% growth and Punjab -6.6% for the six months that data is available.