IMF Projects 11.5% GDP Growth For India In 2021

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday revised India's growth projections higher citing a recovery in the economy after lockdown restrictions were eased.

According to its latest World Economic Outlook, India's gross domestic product is expected to grow at 11.5% in 2021, compared to its earlier projection of 7.8% made in October. The Indian economy has witnessed contractions in two consecutive quarters.

The upward revision of 2.7 percentage points reflects "carryover from a stronger-than-expected recovery in 2020 after lockdowns were eased", IMF said. India's economy is projected to grow by 6.8% in 2022.

India is the only major economy that is estimated to register double-digit growth in 2021, it said. China is next with 8.1% growth in 2021 followed by Spain (5.9%) and France (5.5%).

Early this month, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva had said that India took decisive actions to deal with the pandemic and its economic consequences.

India, she said, went for a very dramatic lockdown for a country with such large population clustered so closely together. Following that, the country moved to more targeted restrictions and lockdowns.

Steps being taken by the policymakers, both on the monetary and fiscal sides, are slightly above the average for emerging markets, Georgieva said.