Big ticket infrastructure spends like highways, railways and power will drive growth in FY2025-26 and beyond. A PL report says it’s already visible in sectors like railways, defence, power and data centres.

2024-25 Budget had allocated Rs 11.1 trillion for infrastructure and that will only go up in 2025-26 Budget. The report says these will be demand drivers and sustain long term growth as inflation eases.

Other sectors like healthcare, tourism, discretionary consumption and financial services will also benefit from the recovery. Industrial growth is looking up, November 2024 saw 6 month high growth of 5.2% against 3.5% in October and 2.5% in November 2023.

Manufacturing which is over 75% of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 5.8% in November 2024 against 4.1% in October. This will create jobs especially for young engineers and graduates from engineering colleges and universities.

Capital goods, a proxy for real investment, grew 9% in November 2024. Consumer durables including electronic goods, refrigerators and TVs grew 13.1% as incomes rise.

Growth is the theme of the next budget and India is looking up for industrial growth, employment and consumption.