India remains global growth engine, will upgrade forecast soon: IMF

The IMF said India continues to anchor global growth, adding that recent economic data has outperformed expectations and could prompt a higher growth projection in its January review

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday said that India remains a key engine of growth for the global economy and indicated that it is likely to upgrade the country’s growth forecast in its upcoming January review, reported ANI.

 

Speaking at a media briefing, IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said India’s recent economic performance has been stronger than expected, reinforcing its importance in driving global expansion.

 

"So what we have seen in India is that India is a key growth engine for the world. In 2025, when we did our Article IV staff report, we estimated India's growth for the financial year 2025–26 (FY26) at 6.6 per cent, which is based on the strong consumption growth," Kozack said.

 

She added that after that report, India's third-quarter numbers started coming in, which are stronger than expected, making an upward revision to the forecast likely.

 

Kozack added that the IMF will publish its January update shortly, when the revised growth figure will be announced. "We have our World Economic Outlook (January) update coming in the next few days. So, we will have a revised growth number for India at that time. But I think 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".

 

Recently, India's National Statistics Office, in its first advance estimates of gross domestic product (GDP), said that the economy is estimated to grow by 7.4 per cent in FY26, up from 6.5 per cent in FY25. The growth outlook, however, has been aided by a GDP deflator at a five-decade low of 0.5 per cent (FY1975-76: -1.6 per cent), with nominal GDP growth projected at 8 per cent in FY26 — the slowest since the Covid-19-impacted FY21.