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India posts 5 years of 7 pc plus growth, forecasts raised: Top economist

IMF, ADB and World Bank raise India’s growth forecasts above 7% for this year and next, potentially extending its run of strong annual growth.

Sentinel Digital Desk

NEW DELHI: Nearly all major forecasters -- including IMF, ADB and World Bank -- have recently raised their growth forecasts for India to above 7 per cent for this year and next, top economist Kyunghoon Kim has said.

In a post on X, Kim said the upward revision is remarkable in itself and even more so when viewed against India's recent performance.

Recapping growth, he said after contracting by 5.8 per cent during the pandemic, India's economy rebounded by 9.7 per cent in 2021, then grew by more than 7 per cent in each of the next four years.  Many economists -- including himself -- repeatedly revised forecasts upwards as quarterly GDP figures came in.

"That makes five consecutive years of growth above 7 per cent, matching the 2003-2007 run, when India attracted global attention as one of the BRIC economies. If current forecasts hold, India will surpass that streak," he said.

Simple average annual growth in 2021-2025 was 7.83 per cent, the second-highest five-year average in data going back to 1960, just behind the 7.89 per cent recorded in 2003-2007, he noted (IANS)

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