IMF praises India's resilient economy, highlights structural reforms taken

Even while the world faces economic challenges in the face of various waves of COVID-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised India's resilient economy while underlining the structural reforms carried out by the government in the recent years.

The IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva lauded India's well-targeted policy mix that has helped the Indian economy remain resilient in her meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday (local time) in Washington DC.

Georgieva highlighted the resilience of India which remains the fastest-growing country across the globe despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sitharaman had a bilateral meeting with Georgieva on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.

The Finance Minister and the IMF MD were accompanied by senior officials like Anantha V. Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor and Gita Gopinath, FDMD of IMF, said the Ministry of Finance in an official statement.

During the meeting, they discussed several issues currently being faced by the global and the regional economies.

Georgieva also referred to an effective policy mix followed by India that was well targeted. She lauded India for its contribution to the capacity development activities of the IMF, the Ministry added in the statement.

Explaining India's policy approach, Sitharaman mentioned that an accommodative fiscal stance was also accompanied by major structural reforms, including the bankruptcy code and targeted help to MSME and other vulnerable sections.

Sitharaman said that Monetary Authority fully supported and complemented these efforts with an accommodative stance.

The Finance Minister further stated that India has been helped by good agricultural output, supported by a good monsoon during the COVID pandemic period. Agricultural exports, along with other exports, have also sharply increased.

India is entering into new economic activities which will help resolve some of the global supply chain issues, she added.

Georgieva also praised India's vaccination programme and the help extended to its neighbour and other vulnerable economies. The IMF MD particularly lauded India's help to Sri Lanka in the face of the ongoing economic crisis.

Sitharaman called upon the IMF to support and urgently provide financial assistance to Sri Lanka. The Managing Director assured the Finance Minister that the IMF would continue to actively engage with Sri Lanka, the Ministry stated.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the people, resulting in massive protests over the government's handling of the situation.

The economic situation has led to huge protests with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Discussing the recent geopolitical developments, Sitharaman and Georgieva raised concerns about its impact on the global economy and the challenges linked to the rising energy prices.

Notably, once the meetings conclude in Washington, Sitharaman will head to San Francisco on April 24, where she will engage with business leaders and will also interact with the faculty and students at Stanford University. She will depart for India on April 27.

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