At a time when the global economy is looking at uncertainty due to Donald Trump’s tariffs, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said she is ‘very big’ on India. Praising India for its reforms, Georgieva said that the country has proved people wrong with its digital approach.“I’m very big on India because of the boldness of their reforms. For example, everyone told India that digital identity on a mass scale could not be done… but India proved them wrong,” she said on Monday.Georgieva commended India’s significant economic and structural reforms during the first day of the organization’s bi-annual meeting of finance ministers and central bank heads. She specifically highlighted changes in tax legislation, digital payment systems and the implementation of Aadhaar.The substantial reforms she referenced included the significant GST restructuring in September.This recognition follows her earlier positive assessment from the previous week, where she identified the economy as a ‘key growth engine’ in the context of global post-pandemic recovery.India is the world’s fastest growing major economy and as per IMF estimates will overtake Japan to become the fourth largest economy in nominal GDP terms by the end of this fiscal year. In the coming years, it is also projected to become the third largest after the US and China, surpassing Germany.India’s economy faces headwinds with the Donald Trump administration levying 50% tariffs on its exports to the US. However, most economists are of the view that since India’s growth story is largely driven by domestic fundamentals, the impact on GDP growth would be nominal.In its latest monetary policy, the RBI said, “The implementation of several growth-inducing structural reforms, including streamlining of GST are expected to offset some of the adverse effects of the external headwinds. Taking all these factors into account, real GDP growth for 2025-26 is now projected at 6.8 per cent, with Q2 at 7.0 per cent, Q3 at 6.4 per cent, and Q4 at 6.2 per cent. Real GDP growth for Q1:2026-27 is projected at 6.4 per cent. The risks are evenly balanced.,
