International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday that India must focus on including more women in its workforce. She urged India to continue with its reforms, especially in the financial services sector, PTI reported.
“I genuinely hope there will be a focus on inclusion of Indian women in the economy,” Lagarde said. “We have research to show that India’s GDP [Gross Domestic Product] can grow by 27% if the women are brought to the same level of men in terms of economic and workforce participation.”
Lagarde was talking to reporters in Davos during the World Economic Forum’s annual summit. She expressed her concerns over discrimination that women in rural India face.
On Monday, the International Monetary Fund had retained its forecast for India’s growth rate at 7.4% of its Gross Domestic Product in 2018 and 7.8% in 2019. Future economic growth would depend on how the country carries forward its process of reforms, Lagarde said.
In October 2017, Lagarde had said the Indian economy is on a “very solid track” for the medium term, and that structural reforms will help revive job growth.
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