Optimistic over the latest economic reforms measures taken by the government, the World Bank has said that India would catch up with China’s growth in the year 2016 and 2017. World Bank stated that China’s growth will remain high, but will begin to taper very gently, reaching 6.9 per cent in 2017. On the other hand, India is likely to witness GDP growth at 6.4% this year from a 5.6% rate last year. Further, Indian economic growth rate is likely to increase at 7% during 2016 and 2017 and would remain higher as compared to projected 6.9% China growth rate in 2017.
The World Bank, in its latest update of its Global Economic Prospects, has highlighted that India should be among the prime beneficiaries of the spectacular plunge in crude oil prices that has lost almost 60 percent of its value since June.
Indian economic growth had slowed down to below 5% over the last two financial years. High interest rate and stubborn inflation, low investments and slow execution of infrastructure projects were the leading factors impacting country’s economy growth. However, the domestic economy has shown signs of nascent recovery and expanded at 5.5% during first half of this fiscal as compared to 4.9% in the same period of previous fiscal.
On South Asia region growth, the Bank stressed that regional growth is projected to rise to 6.8% by 2017 driven by India, the region’s largest economy, which emerged from two years of modest growth.