Fitch raises India FY25 GDP forecast to 7% from 6.5%

Ftich GDP forecast, India GDP growth news: Global ratings agency Fitch on Thursday raised its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in India to 7.0 per cent in the financial year 2024-25 from 6.5 per cent, citing improving domestic demand as well as increasing investments. 

The ratings agency also said it expects the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reduce the repo rate—or the key interest rate at which it lends money to commercial banks—by 50 basis points (half a percentage point) between July and December. 

Fitch projects consumer inflation in the country at 4.0 per cent by the end of the year. 

This month, another ratings agency Moody's pegged the economic growth at 6.4 per cent in 2025 while revising its forecast for the current year to 6.8 per cent from 6.1 per cent. 

The revision by Fitch comes roughly two weeks after official data showed the country's GDP expanded 8.4 per cent in the October-December period, boosted by double-digit expansion in the manufacturing sector. That was much higher than an average estimate of 6.6 per cent by most economists. 

Here's how some of the key sectors of the country's economy fared in the fiscal third quarter, as per official data:

After the release of the Q3 data, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said the agriculture sector was expected to register strong growth in the next financial year. Read more on India Q3 GDP data  

Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) projects the country's GDP growth at 7.2 per cent in the first quarter of FY25, 6.8 per cent in the second, 7.0 per cent in the third, and 6.9 per cent in the fourth. 

Official GDP data on the final three months of the current financial year is due on May 31. 

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