BT Banking & Economy summit: India is set to grow at 8-10%, says KV Kamath amid fears of global recession 

BT Banking & Economy Summit: India is set to grow at the rate of 8-10 per cent, KV Kamath, the doyen of Indian banking and Chairperson of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development, said on Friday. 

Speaking at Business Today's flagship Banking & Economy Summit, Kamath said India was poised to achieve double-digit growth as the government did the right things. "Indian government and central bank resisted the temptation to hike interest rate, addressed the challenges and contained the inflation," Kamath said in a conversation with Business Today Editor Sourav Majumdar.  

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Currently, India is growing close to 7 per cent - the highest among the largest economies. In December 2022, World Bank revised its 2022-23 GDP forecast upward from 6.5 per cent to 6.9 per cent. It also said despite external challenges, the Indian economy is relatively well positioned to weather global spillovers compared to most other emerging markets.

Despite the prediction of a global slowdown by financial institutions, Kamath today said India was set to grow as its balance sheet was clean - both corporate and banking.

On fear of global headwinds, the veteran banker said there was no challenge except for political in Europe. He said everything will settle once the war in Ukraine is over, as the war is impacting oil prices.

Kamath also said the Indian currency was doing better than others. "Every currency has weakened to a degree which is more than the Indian currency, except in the last few months," Kamath said. Last year, the Indian currency declined sharply as the Fed raised went for back-to-back rate hikes to control decades-high inflation in the US.

Ahead of Budget 2023, Kamath advised the government to just keep focusing on increasing revenues. "The government did remarkable jobs in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Those learnings are there. Emphasis should be on generating more revenue and collection and the rest will follow," Kamath said when asked what his advice would be for the government ahead of the last budget before the next general election.