April is a crucial month for India as it marks the beginning of a new fiscal year. It sets the tone for the rest of the year and gives an indication of what lies ahead. The performance of the Indian economy on various key parameters in April is critical to determine whether India has started FY24 on a strong note or not.

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The data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows that India's unemployment rate

stood at 7.9 percent in April, slightly up from 7.8 percent in March. While this indicates a marginal increase in joblessness, the overall trend has been steady in recent months.

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India's power demand saw a decline of 1.8 percent in April, but the fall has actually reduced from the 2.1 percent decline witnessed in March.

India's air passenger traffic saw a slight uptick in April, with 4.28 lakh passengers travelling by air, compared to 4.19 lakh in March. However, the recent development in aviation industry has pushed up airfare prices, which is likely to impact passenger traffic in the coming months.

India's rail freight saw a significant growth of 8.3 percent in April, which is a sharp acceleration from the 3.8 percent growth in March. This indicates that the demand for goods transportation is picking up, which is a positive sign for the economy.

India's credit growth saw an increase of 15.8 percent in April, up from 15 percent in March. This suggests that the credit off-take is steadily growing, which could fuel economic growth in the coming months.

GST collections have also improved, people say that GST collections is inflation, but corporate profits are based on nominal growth. They are not based on real growth. So one has to keep that in mind and therefore this is how India Inc is looking in April because most of the data points relate to what corporate profitability will look like.

India's Manufacturing PMI stood at 57.2 in April, up from 56.4 in March, indicating a sharp acceleration in manufacturing activity. Similarly, services PMI showed a significant uptick in April, with a score of 62, up from 57.8 in March.

India's two-wheeler sales grew by 19.8 percent in April, down from 22.8 percent-growth witnessed in March. India's passenger vehicle sales saw a growth of 4.8 percent in April, up from 2.9 percent growth in March. However, the passenger vehicle registration in April saw a decline of 4.9 percent, indicating that the retail demand may not be keeping pace with the production.

India's performance on key parameters in April indicates that the momentum that was gained in March 2023 has been maintained, indicating a positive outlook for FY24. While there are concerns about certain parameters such as retail sales, the overall trend seems to be positive, and India Inc seems to be optimistic about the future.

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First Published:May 6, 2023 1:32 PM IST