According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Indian economy is projected to experience a slowdown in growth momentum in 2024. The projected growth rate is 6.5%, which is slightly lower than the 6.7% recorded in the previous year.
Key highlights of report
- According to a recent report, India’s economic growth in 2023 was due to the strong public investment outlays and the robust services sector.
- These factors are likely to continue supporting the growth of the country's economy in the fiscal year 2024-25.
- The report also revised India’s growth forecast by 0.3 percentage points, which was released on April 16.
- The report stated that the increasing trend of multinational companies shifting their manufacturing processes to India will have a positive impact on Indian exports. Additionally, the moderating commodity prices will also be beneficial to the country’s import bill.
- The report also indicated that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will most likely keep interest rates constant in the near term.
- Despite restrained public consumption spending, strong public investment expenditure will support India's growth, as per the report.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also released a report on growth forecast on April 16, which raised India’s GDP growth projection for the financial year 2024-25 by 30 basis points to 6.8%.
- The IMF attributed domestic demand for the projected growth rate, considering India's performance in the first nine months of FY24, where the country's growth stood at 8.2% between April-December 2023, according to government data.
UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- UNCTAD is a permanent intergovernmental organization established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1964.
- Its headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland, with additional offices in New York and Addis Ababa.
- Although it reports to both the UN General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council as part of the UN Secretariat, it maintains its own membership, leadership, and budget.
- Rebeca Grynspan from Costa Rica made history by becoming the first female and Central American to hold the position of UNCTAD's secretary-general, which is a part of the United Nations Development Group.