India needs more economic reforms to ensure sustainable, inclusive growth: IMF

24 Jul 2020 Evaluate

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Communications Department Director Gerry Rice stated that concerted efforts by India to strengthen the business climate and encourage investment in the trade have helped to attract investment and improve the current account financing mix and also help to contain external vulnerabilities, but the country needs further economic reforms to ensure sustainable and more inclusive growth.

Rice said relevant reforms have included the new bankruptcy code, the National Goods and Services Tax. These have helped to gain in India's doing business ranking, moving up rapidly in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index, up to 63 in 2020, from 100 in 2018, significant progress there, indeed. And, nonetheless, further economic reforms, including labour, product mixed land, and others, and additional infrastructure investment are necessary, in our view, to attract even more investment, and to ensure sustainable and more inclusive growth in India, he said in response to the question.

He added that recently, the IMF in its update to the World Economic Outlook projected India's growth rate at -4.5%, and then 6% recovery, for the fiscal year 2020-21 and fiscal year 2020-22, respectively. He noted that ‘our projection for fiscal year '20-2021 was revised down, as was the case for most countries driven by the impact of the pandemic’. On balance, he said ‘I think we would say the risks to the economic outlook remain’. Despite gradual recovery in activities and a solid agricultural performance, the downside risks remain. He said the main downside risk is of course the continued spread of the pandemic.

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