Indian economy to grow by 7.2% in 2018, 7.4% in 2019: UN Report

KalingaTV News Network

New Delhi: Indian economy is likely to grow by 7.2 per cent in 2018 and go up further to 7.4 per cent in the following year on the back of strong private consumption, public investment and the ongoing structural reforms, says a UN report.

“Despite the slowdown observed in early 2017 and the lingering effects from the demonetisation policy, the outlook for India remains largely positive, underpinned by robust private consumption and public investment as well as ongoing structural reforms,” the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) report released on Monday said.

The report also said the GDP growth of India is projected to accelerate from 6.7 per cent in 2017 to 7.2 per cent in 2018 and 7.4 per cent in 2019, while the growth is expected to remain steady at 3% in 2018 and 2019 at the global level.

The UN DESA report also forecast that inflation in India will be 4.5% in 2018 and 4.8% in 2019, slightly above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) medium-term consumer price index-based (CPI-based) inflation target of 4%.

Meanwhile, India’s fiscal deficit has declined visibly, and it is expected to narrow further to 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2018.