India’s growth positive for world economy: IMF’s Gopinath

 

NEW DELHI: Strong economic growth in India has positive implications for the global economy and the country stands out for its vaccine policy, which is playing a key role in helping the world deal with the Covid-19 crisis, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Gita Gopinath said on Monday.

“India makes up about 7% of world GDP based on purchasing power parity terms. So, when you are that large, what happens in India has implications for many other countries in the world, especially countries in the region,” Gopinath said.

Gopinath said India, which typically grows 6%, was hit very hard by the pandemic and it is forecast to contract 8% in the current financial year that ends in March. But now recovery was under way as economic activities have restarted.

“So, we have indeed projected a growth of 11.5% this year (2021-22). Now, because of its size when you have India growing, it increases demand for goods from other parts of the world and that’s a big positive,” Gopinath said.

Gopinath said better economic opportunities and equal pay for women not only lowers gender inequality but also lowers income inequality. “Moving from a situation of perfect gender inequality to perfect gender equality is estimated to be equivalent to lowering income inequality from levels prevailing in Venezuela to those in Sweden. As we have shown, lower income inequality in turn brings with it higher and more durable growth.”

Thanks to MSN&TOI