• Source:JND
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF), increased India's growth projections for 2024 from 6.8 per cent earlier to 7 per cent, keeping the country's position as the fastest-growing emerging market and developing economy.

The IMF formerly forecast a growth rate of 6.5 percent for 2024, which was later revised to 6.8 percent and is now 7 percent. India remains the fastest expanding major economy.The IMF estimated India's growth rate to be 6.5 percent in 2025. It attributed its growth estimates to solid and strong domestic demand, as well as an increasing working age population.

"Growth in India and China will account for almost half of global growth in 2024," Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director of IMF and former Chief Economist at the IMF, said in a X post.

The forecast for growth in emerging market and developing economies has been revised upward and the projected increase is powered by stronger activity in Asia, particularly China and India. For China, the growth forecast has been revised upward to 5 percent in 2024, primarily on account of a rebound in private consumption and strong exports in the first quarter, IMF said.

"The forecast for growth in India has also been revised upward, to 7.0 percent, this year, with the change reflecting carryover from upward revisions to growth in 2023 and improved prospects for private consumption, particularly in rural areas," it added.

According to official data from the Indian government, the country's GDP increased by 8.2 percent during the fiscal year 2023-24, and it remained the fastest-growing major economy. The Indian economy increased by 7.2 per cent in 2022-23 and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22, respectively.

In its most recent monetary policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of India boosted its GDP prediction for 2024-25 to 7.2 per cent from 7.1 per cent before.

The World Bank too upwardly revised India's GDP growth forecast for the current financial year 2024-25 by 20 basis points to 6.6 per cent from its earlier projection of 6.4 per cent made in January. World Bank said India will remain the fastest-growing of the world's largest economies, although its pace of expansion is expected to moderate.

(With inputs from agencies)