An uncertain new year

2017 was about disruptions; will 2018 bring stability?

India started 2017 having just undergone one extremely disruptive event — demonetisation — and halfway through the year had to deal with another, the introduction of the goods and services tax, or GST. This has, thus, been a profoundly unusual year for the Indian economy. It has been marked by dynamics such as de-stocking and re-stocking, which conceal the trend line of economic activity. In the middle of the year, it appeared that India had undergone a clear growth slowdown, with several successive quarters of deceleration, beginning with the first quarter of 2016. It is to be hoped that the