Suddenly, the stock market looks good. A small wave of good news has brought cheers to lackluster trading last week. For example, Infosys’ Q4 results have taken the market by pleasant surprise. The quarter’s net income for Infy rose by about 70% over last year’s Q4 figure. The FY06 net too recorded robust growth.
The other good news is the drop in inflation rate to respectable 5.74%, bringing psychological relief. This is the first time in current year that inflation has dropped below 6% mark. What is noticeable is that previous week’s inflation rate was 6.39%, which means the drop is as much as 0.65% in a week’s time.
In these euphoric moments, one development hasn’t captured much attention. It’s India’s forex reserves crossing the magic $200 billion mark for the first time ever. Ending April 6, the reserves stood at $200.32 billion, of which $46 billion came last year alone, making India the 5th Asian country after Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China topping the $200 billion mark.
Foreign Direct Investments too haven’t lagged behind. FY06 has seen $15 billion FDI. The target for FY07 is kept at $25 billion.
All in all, it’s a far cry from the economic situation even 5 years back. Talking to people, one gets the impression that those who have money or have made money in these boom years have begun to realize that India’s poor needs all sorts of help to enable them become a part of and participate in the nation’s economic progress.
Otherwise, the booming economy cannot sustain for long. Which is perhaps why an emotive issue like education quota or welfare measures like Rural Welfare Guarantee Schemes haven’t met with much stir among public at large.
All these are good news indeed. Here in Bengal, despite the Nandigram fiasco, foreign investors haven’t stopped coming to explore business possibilities. It remains to be seen how the governments, both in Bengal and in center, can make hay while the sun shines.
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