IMF’s Gita Gopinath Praises Centre’s Policy Continuity In Fiscal Consolidation Path

Gita Gopinath, the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday and lauded the continuity in “fiscal consolidation path” being followed by the Government.

Ms Gopinath acknowledged the vibrancy of the Indian economy and the strength of the country’s relationship with the IMF.

Ms Sitharaman said India deeply values its relationship with the IMF and the government is open to exploring more ways to increase collaboration.

“The First Deputy Managing Director @IMFNews, Ms. @GitaGopinath, called on the Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman , in New Delhi, today. Ms. @GitaGopinath congratulated the Union Finance Minister on the policy continuity in the fiscal consolidation path followed by the Government of India,” the Ministry of Finance said in a post on X.

The First Deputy Managing Director @IMFNews, Ms. @GitaGopinath, called on the Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman, in New Delhi, today.

Ms. @GitaGopinath congratulated the Union Finance Minister on the policy continuity in the fiscal consolidation path followed by the… pic.twitter.com/T40ys37u9o

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) August 17, 2024

“Besides acknowledging the vibrancy of the Indian economy, Ms.@GitaGopinath appreciated the strength of India’s relationship with IMF – valuable to both India, IMF, and the world at large. FM Smt.@nsitharaman stated that India deeply values its relationship and continuous engagement with IMF; and looking ahead, the Government of India is open to exploring more ways to increase India’s collaboration with the IMF,” it added.

IMF in its outlook released last month raised India’s growth projections for 2024 from 6.8 per cent earlier to 7 per cent.

For the year 2025, the IMF projected India’s growth rate at 6.5 per cent. It attributed robustness and strength in domestic demand and a rising working-age population behind its growth projections.

According to official data of the Indian government, the country’s GDP grew at an impressive 8.2 per cent during the financial year 2023-24, and it continued to remain the fastest-growing major economy. India’s economy grew 7.2 per cent in 2022-23 and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22 respectively.

The Reserve Bank of India, in its latest monetary policy meeting, raised the GDP forecast for the current for 2024-25 to 7.2 per cent from 7 per cent earlier.

The World Bank too upwardly revised India’s GDP growth forecast for the current financial year 2024-25 by 20 basis points to 6.6 per cent from its earlier projection of 6.4 per cent made in January.

It said India will remain the fastest-growing of the world’s largest economies, although its pace of expansion is expected to moderate.