Economy makes solid recovery despite global headwinds: Das

NEW DELHI: Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said the Indian economy has made a solid recovery and is among the fastest-growing large economies despite heightened uncertainties and formidable headwinds.

He said that financial stability is non-negotiable and all stakeholders in the financial system must work to preserve this at all times.

“The Reserve Bank and the other financial regulators remain steadfast in their commitment to safeguard financial stability in the face of potential and emerging challenges,” he said in a foreword to Financial Stability Report (FSR).

In this fragile global milieu, he said, balancing the policy trade-offs, preserving macroeconomic and financial stability, shoring up confidence and supporting sustainable growth are top priorities for policymakers the world over.

Over the last three years, the global economy has been navigating successive high-amplitude shocks: the COVID-19 pandemic waves; protracted geopolitical hostilities; rapid monetary policy tightening; and the recent banking turmoil. Economic fragmentation is threatening macroeconomic prospects, especially among emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), he said.

Since the last issue of the FSR in December 2022, the global and Indian financial systems have charted somewhat different trajectories.

The global financial system has been impacted by significant strains since early March 2023 from the banking turmoil in the US and Europe.

Earlier this year, US-based Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed. It was followed by the bailout of UBS, the Switzerland’s largest bank, by Credit Suisse in March.

Since the last issue of the FSR in December 2022, the global and Indian financial systems have charted somewhat different trajectories, it said, adding, the global financial system has been impacted by significant strains since early March 2023 from the banking turmoil in the US and Europe. In contrast, it said, the financial sector in India has been stable and resilient, as reflected in sustained growth in bank credit, low levels of non-performing assets and adequate capital and liquidity buffers.