India reclaiming place at growth leader, says IMF

After a short period of slowdown in the economy, India is reclaiming its place as a growth leader, first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) David Lipton said.

Addressing the Asian Financial Forum, Hong Kong, he also said that right now, the sun is shining on the global economy and capital-intensive investment and consumer demand are rising.

"India is reclaiming its place as a growth leader after a short slowdown," the IMF quoted Lipton as saying.

With strong consumption and investment, rising exports, and steady capital inflows, the outlook for Asian region remains bright, he added.

Recently, World Bank had also projected India's growth rate in 2018 at 7.3 per cent and 7.5 per cent in the next two years.

India is estimated to have grown at 6.7 per cent in 2017 despite initial setbacks from demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), according to the 2018 Global Economics Prospect released by the World Bank recently.

According to World Bank, China grew at 6.8 per cent in 2017, 0.1 per cent more than that of India, while in 2018, its growth rate is projected at 6.4 per cent. And in the next two years, the country's growth rate will drop marginally to 6.3 and 6.2 per cent, respectively.

According to Central Statistics Office (CSO), India's economic growth is expected to slow to a four-year low of 6.5 per cent in the 2017-18 fiscal, the lowest under the Modi-led government, mainly due to poor performance of agriculture and manufacturing sectors.