India to grow at 7.2% in 2017-18 – World Bank

As per “India Development Report” by World Bank, Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.2% in FY 2017-18 as compared to 6.8% in 2016-17.

Highlights of “India Development Report” by World Bank:

The report has outlined that demonetisation in November 2016 caused a slight disruption to India’s growth recovery.

• Junaid Ahmad, World Bank’s country director in India has mentioned that India remains the fastest-growing economy in the world and it will get a boost from its approach to Goods and Services Tax (GST) which will reduce the cost of doing business for firms, reduce logistics cost of moving goods across states, while ensuring no loss in equity.
• ‘India Development Report’ has highlighted that overall impact of GST on equity and poverty is likely to be positive.
• The report has also mentioned that India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate would increase gradually to 7.7% by 2019-20 on account of strong fundamentals, reform momentum and improving investment scenario.

It is to be noted that in the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut down India’s growth forecast for year 2017 by 0.4 percentage points to 7.2 %.

Quick facts about World Bank:

World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to its member countries for developmental projects.

• It was formed in year 1945.
• World Bank comprises two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the International Development Association (IDA).
• Headquarters of World Bank is located in Washington D.C., US.
• Jim Yong Kim is the current President of World Bank