Washington: The International Monetary
Fund in its review of the World Economic Outlook on Monday cut India's economic
growth forecast to 6.5 per cent, down from its April projection of 7.2 per
cent.
The IMF has
reduced the global growth forecast for 2012 to 3.5% from 3.6%. For 2013, the
growth forecast has been lowered to 3.9%, from 4.1%, indicating that there are
harder times ahead for economies.
Notably, the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) had last week lowered the growth forecast for India to 6.5% for the
current fiscal, from the earlier 7%. According to official projections, Indian
economy is expected to grow at 7.6% (+/- 0.25%) in the current fiscal (April-March).
India's economic growth fell to a
nine-year low of 6.5% in 2011-12 fiscal. Last month, the World Bank had
projected Indian economy to grow at 6.9% in the current fiscal.
India's growth has already been
slowing, and fell to 6.5 per cent for the financial year ended March 2012,
after hitting a nine-year low of 5.3 per cent in the March quarter.
The International Monetary Fund also cut its global growth forecast and warned
that the outlook could dim further if policymakers in Europe do not act with
enough force and speed to quell their region's debt crisis.