India retains title of world’s fastest-growing large economy with growth projected at 6.6 pc says UN

WESP said that India's economy would be bolstered by "strong export growth in services and certain goods categories, particularly pharmaceuticals and electronics".

United Nations: “India would again be the fastest growing large economy in the world” with a projected annual growth rate of 6.6 per cent, according to Hamid Rashid, the UN head of Global Economic Monitoring.

He was speaking at the release of the UN’s flagship report, World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025, (WESP) on Thursday, which projected the gross domestic product (GDP) to grow slightly faster at 6.8 per cent next year.

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WESP said that India’s economy would be bolstered by “strong export growth in services and certain goods categories, particularly pharmaceuticals and electronics“.

“Robust private consumption and investment” would boost the nation’s economy and “capital expenditure on infrastructure development is expected to have strong multiplier effects on growth in the coming year,” the report said.

“On the supply side, expansion in the manufacturing and services sectors will keep driving the economy throughout the forecast period,” it added.

There was good news on the agriculture front also: “Favourable monsoon rains in 2024 have improved the summer-sowing areas for all major crops, boosting agricultural output expectations for 2025,” WESP said.

India’s growth projection for this year fell marginally from last year’s 6.8 per cent last year, but it has to be seen in the context of sluggish global growth with the nation retaining its rank as the fastest-growing economy.

The overall global growth rate held at 2.8 per cent, while developed economies’ growth slipped by 0.1 per cent to 1.6 per cent compared to last year.

This year’s projection for China, the second fastest-growing economy, slipped by 0.1 per cent to 4.8 per cent and is expected to fall by 0.3 per cent next year compared to this year to 4.5 per cent.