ADB forecasts India's economic growth at 7% for current financial year

New Delhi, Sep 25: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday predicted that India's economic would grow at 7 per cent for the financial year 2024-25 and 7.2 per cent for 2025-26. 

ADB, in its September edition of Asian Development Outlook (ADO), said that India's economic growth will remain robust. 

"India's economy has shown remarkable resilience in the face of global geopolitical challenges and is poised for steady growth," said ADB Country Director for India Mio Oka. 

"Agricultural improvements will enhance rural spending, which will complement the effects of robust performance of the industry and services sectors," the ADB maintained. 

ADB highlighted that an above-average monsoon in most parts of the country will lead to strong agricultural growth, enhancing the rural economy in FY2024. 

It maintains a positive outlook for the industry and services sectors, private investment, and urban consumption for FY2024 and FY2025.

The report said, "With the government's fiscal consolidation efforts, central government debt is projected to decrease from 58.2% of GDP (/topic/gdp) in FY2023 to 56.8% in FY2024. The general government deficit, which includes state governments, is expected to fall below 8% of GDP (/topic/gdp) in FY2024." 

Consumer inflation is anticipated to rise to 4.7 per cent in FY2024 due to elevated food prices, despite higher agriculture output expectations.