The world economy continues to face multiple crises, jeopardizing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
WEB DESK
The United Nations (UN) has revised upwards India’s growth forecast for 2024 by 70 basis points to 6.9 per cent, from 6.2 per cent estimated in January this year, driven by robust public investment and resilient private consumption.
“India’s economy is forecast to expand by 6.9 per cent in 2024, driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption,” the World Economic Situation and Prospects report, released on Friday said.
For 2025, however, it has kept its growth forecast unchanged at 6.6 per cent.
The international body has raised the global growth forecast for 2024 upward to 2.7 per cent from 2.4 per cent projected earlier and revised the 2025 numbers by 10 basis points to 2.8 per cent.
“The upward revisions reflect improved prospects in the US and several large developing economies, notably India and Brazil,” it said.
However, the near-term economic outlook is only cautiously optimistic as economic vulnerabilities remain, amid persistently high interest rates, continuing geopolitical tensions and increasing climate risks, the report added.
The report noted that the government remains committed to gradually reducing the fiscal deficit, while seeking to increase capital investment. The government has set a target to reduce the fiscal deficit to 5.1 per cent in FY25, from 5.8 per cent in FY24.
On the consumer inflation front, the report said that inflation in India is projected to decelerate from 5.6 per cent in 2023 to 4.5 per cent in 2024, staying within the central bank’s 2 to 6 per cent medium-term target range.