India has become an alternative destination for investments, said an expert at the UN body that revised India’s 2024 GDP growth upwards from its projection in January. The report also stated that lesser investments from Western countries are going to China.
“India is also benefiting from more investments coming into India from other western sources as less and less foreign investment is going into China, western investment is going into China. India has become an alternative investment source or destination for many western companies. I think that is also benefiting India,” Chief of the Global Economic Monitoring Branch, Economic Analysis and Policy Division, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Hamid Rashid said.
Rashid was speaking to reporters on the mid-year update of the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2024 that has revised India’s growth projection to 6.9 per cent in 2024, from 6.2 per cent that was projected in January. The 2025 projection of 6.6 per cent has not been changed.
Speaking about the drivers of growth of the Indian economy, Rashid highlighted the inflation figures that have come down significantly. He said that this indicates that the fiscal position is not as constrained as in other countries. There is both support on the monetary side and fiscal side in terms of stimulating growth.
He said that India’s growth momentum was kickstarted last year and now continues. India’s export has also been robust, said Rashid.
“So I think given all these factors, this improvement is a very reasonable modest upward revision that we have done, given that what we see is happening in the Indian economy right now,” he added.
India’s special import arrangement that India has with Russia is helping it “tremendously” to keep its import costs down.
India has done remarkably well, said Rashid, and highlighted the “robust growth performance” in India and Brazil.