New Delhi, April 17 (IANS). Multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) see India as a potential engine of future global economic growth, as the country has become the fastest growing emerging economy, while China's The GDP growth rate is estimated at 4.6 percent in 2024, which is likely to slow down further to 4.1 percent in 2025.
The IMF's World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday not only raised India's growth forecast by 0.3 per cent to 6.8 per cent for 2024-25, but also described the country as a ray of hope that “supports global growth over the medium term.” Which will benefit other countries also”.
With the real estate sector declining and China lagging behind due to US sanctions, the IMF report said other large emerging market G20 countries like India and Brazil will play a bigger role in the global trading system and drive global growth.
The IMF report also lauds India's economic policy as it attributes the strong growth rate to “strong domestic demand”, coupled with the revival of rural demand and the construction of large infrastructure projects such as highways, railways, ports and power plants. But this has happened due to huge increase in government expenditure.
Increased allocation to agriculture, rural employment schemes like MNREGA and special programs for women self-help groups have helped in increasing rural demand and creating a larger market for industrial products.
According to official data, more than 90,000 kilometers of national highways have been built during the 10-year tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which is almost double the number in the previous 10 years.
Government investment in highway infrastructure to increase more than four times from Rs 51,000 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 2.4 lakh crore in 2022-23.
The latest UNCTAD report released on Tuesday projects global economic growth in 2024 at 2.6 percent, barely above the 2.5 percent threshold typically associated with a recession.
However, amid the gloomy global outlook, it said India's economy is buoyed by strong public investment and services sector growth, which is projected to expand by 6.5 per cent in 2024.
–IANS
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