Aided by a drop in Covid 19 cases, India’s growth rate in the current financial year is set to be in the range of 9.3 -9.6 per cent, according to the State Bank of India. This is in line with the Reserve Bank of India’s forecast of 9.5 per cent. According to the bank’s Ecowrap—a roundup of the economic status of the country, India is expected to clock an 8.1 per cent growth in the second quarter of this fiscal year.

The report noted that India registered only 11 per cent increase in Covid cases during the third quarter of 2021 which is the second lowest among top 15 most affected countries. Importantly, the increase in the number of cases declined to 2.3 per cent in November compared to September.

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So far, 115.79 vaccine doses have been administered. Eighty one per cent of the eligible population have received at least a single dose of Covid 19 vaccine while 42 per cent have got both doses.

In certain states including Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh more than 50 per cent of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated.

 Meanwhile, BJP's spokesperson for economic affairs Gopal Krishna Agarwal said that the disinvestment of ailing national carrier Air India has been one of the key achievements of the government. At a press briefing, he said that a few more are in the pipeline.