India has implemented important reforms but needs more to sustain its high economic growth of the last few years, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.
“India has of course been one of the world’s fastest growing large economies of late, with growth averaging about 7% over the past five years,” IMF communications director Gerry Rice said. “...More reforms are needed to sustain this high growth, including to harness the demographic dividend opportunity, which India has.”
Rice said that India’s policy priorities include accelerating the cleanup of banks and corporate balance sheets, fiscal consolidation at central as well as state levels, and “broadly maintain the reform momentum in terms of structural reforms in factor markets, labour, land reforms and further enhancing the business climate to achieve faster and more inclusive growth”.
The World Economic Outlook survey report, to be released by the IMF next month, will have more details about the Indian economy, Rice said. This will be the first such report by the IMF since India-born economist Gita Gopinath took over as its chief economist in January.
Fitch cuts forecast for India’s growth
Meanwhile, credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has cut its forecast for India’s economic growth for 2019-’20 to 6.8% from its previous estimate of 7% because of weaker-than-expected momentum, PTI reported. The ratings agency said it sees India’s economic growth to rise to 7.1% in 2020-’21.
In December, Fitch Ratings had revised India’s growth forecast for 2019-’20 to 7% from the earlier 7.3%.
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