The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has described India as a key engine of global growth after the country’s economy expanded 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The stronger-than-expected performance was driven by services and exports, even as the economy faced an energy price shock, said Julie Kozak, Director of the IMF’s Communications Department. Her comments came in response to questions on India’s latest growth figures, its macroeconomic data, and the effect of higher crude oil prices on a major energy importer.
Kozak said India’s latest GDP release incorporated a new index of industrial production and a new producer price index series. The changes, she said, should improve the country’s GDP estimates. The IMF said it was also monitoring the effect of rising oil prices on India’s economy. Kozak noted that costlier energy creates pressure for all oil-importing countries.
