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BUSINESS EYE DECEMBER 24, 2021 | The Indian Eye 50

the new metaverse: india’s enterprising spirit

is the key to future growth & optimism

The new year will see the growth momentum gaining steam with the real GDP growth estimated at

8.2 per cent for FY2022-23, according to an American brokerage firm

OuR BuREAu sure on prices.
“We see 2022 as the year of much
New Delhi
awaited normalcy and normalization
eta (formerly Facebook) for India. We expect growth recovery
founder Mark Zuckerberg to gain steam, driven by consump-
Mon Wednesday said India’s tion,” the brokerage said in its out-
entrepreneurial spirit and massive look for the new year.
scale is fueling optimism about the The low vaccination rates and
future and the opportunities that the emergence of the Omicron vari-
the country presents. Speaking at ant were flagged as factors which are
Meta’s Fuel for India 2021, Zucker- creating “considerable uncertainty”
berg also said he is excited about the for growth, which will be lower than
role that India will play in building FY22’s 9.3 per cent on base effects.
the metaverse. Metaverse refers to a From a sectoral perspective,
combination of multiple technologies, growth in agriculture, forestry and
including virtual reality, augmented fishing will come at 3.5 per cent in
reality and video where users “live” FY23, as against 4 per cent in FY22,
within a digital universe. industry (7.1 per cent versus 10 per
cent), manufacturing (7 per cent ver-
“the reason why india is so ex- sus 10 per cent), while services are
estimated to grow at 7.9 per cent in
citing to me is two things that FY23 as against 9 per cent in FY22.
The brokerage said inflation
combined together make for will be on the rise going ahead and
something special - the entre- pegged the headline number to be
preneurial spirit combined with at 5.6 per cent in FY23, up by 0.30
per cent. This will force the RBI to
the scale of what can happen... act on the rates front, by increasing

that is what is fueling a lot of the repo rate by 1 percentage point
in FY23, after the long pause that it
the internet economy in india has undertaken right now, the bro-
already, but it also makes me kerage said.
The fiscal consolidation will
so optimistic about the future continue in the new fiscal year as the

here,” he said. growth process continues, the bro-
kerage said, pegging the fiscal gap to
narrow to 5.8 per cent in FY23, after
He added that India’s talent Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund gita gopinath calling on Prime Minister
pool -- the engineers, developers Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday (ANI) the government meets the budgeted
and creators, and the vibrant startup 6.8 per cent in FY22.
Meanwhile, Indian-American
ecosystem -- are playing a huge role and is (why) I think we’re going to to continue unlocking this (India’s) Gita Gopinath, the chief economist
in shaping the future. “India is on see a huge amount of (the founda- potential,” he emphasized. of the International Monetary Fund,
track to have the largest app devel- tion) get built here in India,” he said. Meanwhile, the new year will called on Prime Minister Narendra
oper base in the world by 2024, and The top executive noted that the herald the return of normalcy and Modi on Wednesday. The meet-
already has one of the largest Spark
AR developer communities. company is investing in other grow- witness the growth momentum gain- ing comes days after the IMF an-
ing steam, an American brokerage
nounced that she is being promoted
ing areas like education and com-
Zuckerberg noted that the
metaverse will not be built by any merce through investments in Un- said on Wednesday, pegging the real as its First deputy managing director.
academy and Meesho. “We want to
She would replace Geoffrey
GDP growth estimate at 8.2 per cent
one company and will need collabo- continue to partner in all of these ar- for FY2022-23. Bank of America Okamoto who plans to leave the
rative efforts. “And that’s what we’re eas as we accelerate the development said the country entered 2021 on an Fund early next year. Gopinath,
so excited about seeing here in India
is the developer ecosystem, the eco- of the fundamental technologies, the optimistic note with recovering eco- who was scheduled to return to her
academic position at Harvard Uni-
social platforms and creative tools
nomic growth and well contained
system of individual entrepreneurs,
the spirit around that is one of the that are going to be necessary to inflation, but the tragic second wave versity in January 2022, has served
rocked the boat, led to the return of
bring the metaverse to life... We want
as the IMF’s chief economist for
things that makes India so special
to make sure that we can do our part supply shortages and exerted pres- three years.
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