Monthly Economic Review: March 2021

April 6, 2021

The Ministry of Finance recently released the Monthly Economic Review for March 2021. According to the report, the Indian Economy is recovering from COVID-19 crisis. The report has highlighted several indicators that prove economic recovery in the country.

Key Findings of the report

The Agricultural sector remains the bright spot of the Indian Economy. The food grain production touched 303.3 million tonnes in 2020-21. This is the highest in the five years.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has acted as the strong pillar to insulate the rural economy during the COVID-19 crisis. The MGNREGS has achieved this by creating 383.8 crore person days of employment in 2020-21. This is 44.7% higher as compared to that of the previous year. The Central Government used the MGNREGS working hours to complete Jal Jeevan mission during COVID-19 crisis. This was mainly done to support the livelihood of migrant workers and also to support workers in informal sectors. Also the GoI had increased the wages under the scheme.
Monthly GST collections attained an all-time high in March 2021 since its inception.
The PMI Manufacturing Index for the month of March 2021 was 55.4.
Power consumption showed a strong consistent recovery registering 22.8% growth.
Railway freight transport achieved a double-digit growth of 23.7%.
Exports climbed up to the highest since the inception of COVID-19 crisis and stood at 34 billion USD. Healthy growth of exports was observed mainly in jewellery, engineering, gems and pharmaceuticals.
Crude oil prices increased averaging 64.7 USD/bbl in March 2021. In February 2021, the crude oil prices stood at 61.2 USD/bbl.
Money supply growth stood at 12.6% in March 2021.