India, which is the largest economy in South Asia, is expected to achieve projected growth rate of 7.4 per cent in 2017 and 7.8 per cent in 2018, primarily from strong consumption, a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report has said.

In a supplement to the Asian Development Outlook 2017 report, ADB also upgraded its growth outlook for Developing Asia from 5.7 per cent to 5.9 per cent in 2017 and from 5.7 per cent to 5.8 per cent for 2018. The smaller uptick in the 2018 rate reflects a cautious view on the sustainability of the export push. The report said economic prospects in Developing Asia for 2017 improved on the back of stronger-than-expected export demand in the first quarter of this year.