Economy: IMF calls India a global growth engine, may upgrade outlook soon
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Ahead of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s General Budget for the fiscal 2026-27, to be tabled in Parliament on February 1, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called India a key growth engine for global growth as it prepares for a likely upgrade of the South Asia nation’s outlook by January-end.
India’s economic performance stays strong and resilient, IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack, who also heads the Communications Department (COM) at the IMF, said as she highlighted India’s growing importance during a media briefing on Thursday.
She noted that the latest economic data from India has come in stronger than expected, reinforcing the country’s role as a major driver of global growth, the media quoted her as saying on Friday.
Kozack stated, “So what we have seen is that India is a key growth engine for the world. India’s growth in 2025, when we did our Article IV staff report, we had estimated growth for fiscal year 25-26 at 6.6 per cent, which is based on the strong consumption growth.”
Since the release of the Article IV report, however, India’s third-quarter growth has turned out to be stronger than anticipated. This development has increased the likelihood that the IMF may revise its growth forecast for India upwards in the near term.
“What we have seen since then is that the third quarter growth in India came out stronger than expected, and that makes it likely that we will be upgrading our forecast going forward,” Kozack said.
The IMF is set to release its January real update in the coming days, during which a revised growth number for India will be announced.
“We have our January real update coming in the next few days. So, we will have a revised growth number for India at that time,” she stated.
Highlighting the broader picture, Kozack said the IMF’s overall assessment of India remains positive. The South Asian country has consistently played a key role in supporting global growth, even amid challenging international economic conditions.
“The bottom line for us on India is that it has been a key driver of global growth, and growth has been quite robust in India,” she said.
The IMF’s latest remarks reflect continued confidence in India’s economic fundamentals, with strong domestic consumption acting as a major pillar of growth. The upcoming update is now keenly awaited, as it may further strengthen India’s position as one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world.
