NEW DELHI: United Nations on Thursday revised it’s earlier forecasts and said that India’s economy is expected to grow by 6.9% in 2024 and 6.6% in 2025. According the report the growth will primarily driven by robust public investment and resilient private consumption.
“India’s economy is forecast to expand by 6.9 per cent in 2024 and 6.6 per cent in 2025, mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption.Although subdued external demand will continue to weigh on merchandise export growth, pharmaceuticals and chemicals exports are expected to expand strongly,” said World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2024, released Thursday.
The report highlighted that consumer price inflation in India is projected to decrease from 5.6% in 2023 to 4.5% in 2024, remaining within the central bank’s medium-term target range of two to six percent. Other South Asian countries are also expected to experience a decline in inflation rates in 2024, ranging from 2.2% in the Maldives to 33.6% in Iran. Despite some moderation, food prices remained high in the first quarter of 2024, particularly in Bangladesh and India.
India’s labour market indicators have shown improvement, supported by strong growth and increased labour force participation. The government remains committed to gradually reducing the fiscal deficit while aiming to increase capital investment.
India’s economic growth has been characterized as ‘very robust’ by a UN expert, who also noted that the country is attracting more foreign investment as Western companies shift their focus away from China.
“India is also benefiting from more investments coming into India from other western sources as less and less foreign investment is going into China, western investment is going into China. India has become an alternative investment source or destination for many western companies. I think that is also benefiting India,” said Hamid Rashid, chief of the global economic monitoring branch at the UN department of economic and social affairs.
“India’s economy is forecast to expand by 6.9 per cent in 2024 and 6.6 per cent in 2025, mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption.Although subdued external demand will continue to weigh on merchandise export growth, pharmaceuticals and chemicals exports are expected to expand strongly,” said World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2024, released Thursday.
The report highlighted that consumer price inflation in India is projected to decrease from 5.6% in 2023 to 4.5% in 2024, remaining within the central bank’s medium-term target range of two to six percent. Other South Asian countries are also expected to experience a decline in inflation rates in 2024, ranging from 2.2% in the Maldives to 33.6% in Iran. Despite some moderation, food prices remained high in the first quarter of 2024, particularly in Bangladesh and India.
India’s labour market indicators have shown improvement, supported by strong growth and increased labour force participation. The government remains committed to gradually reducing the fiscal deficit while aiming to increase capital investment.
India’s economic growth has been characterized as ‘very robust’ by a UN expert, who also noted that the country is attracting more foreign investment as Western companies shift their focus away from China.
“India is also benefiting from more investments coming into India from other western sources as less and less foreign investment is going into China, western investment is going into China. India has become an alternative investment source or destination for many western companies. I think that is also benefiting India,” said Hamid Rashid, chief of the global economic monitoring branch at the UN department of economic and social affairs.