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India’s Economic Growth is ‘Much Weaker Than Expected, Says IMF

In July, the IMF projected a slower growth rate for India in 2019 and 2020, a downward revision of 0.3 per cent for both the years.

News18.com

Updated:September 13, 2019, 11:49 AM IST

File photo of International Monetary Fund’s logo. (Reuters)

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New Delhi: India’s economic growth is “much weaker” than expected, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday, attributing the reasons for corporate and environmental regulatory uncertainty and lingering weaknesses in some non-bank financial companies.

In July, the IMF projected a slower growth rate for India in 2019 and 2020, a downward revision of 0.3 per cent for both the years, saying its GDP will now grow respectively at the rate of 7 and 7.2 per cent reflecting a weaker-than-expected outlook for domestic demand.

However, India will still be the fastest-growing major economy of the world and much ahead of China, the Washington-based global financial institution had said.

“We will have a fresh set of numbers coming up but the recent economic growth in India is much weaker than expected, mainly due to corporate and environmental regulatory uncertainty and lingering weakness in some non-bank financial companies,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters at a news conference here on Thursday.

The risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside, he added.

As per the government data, economic growth slowed to a seven-year low to five per cent in April to June quarter from 8 per cent a year ago.

Responding to a question on the recent GDP figures of India, Rice said the IMF will monitor the economic situation in India. “We will update that assessment in the upcoming world economic outlook,” he said.

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Source: News18