New Delhi, 06 October (H.S.): The World Bank has once again expressed confidence in the Indian economy. Amid the West Asia crisis and global uncertainties, the World Bank has raised its forecast for India’s economic growth to 7.1% for the financial year 2026-27, following similar positive revisions by Moody’s and S&P.

In its latest India Development Update released on Tuesday, the World Bank raised its forecast for India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the current financial year 2026-27 to 7.1%. This is 0.5 percentage points higher than the 6.6% projection made in April. The upward revision has been attributed to stronger-than-expected growth in the first quarter, covering April to June.

The World Bank said in its report, “We have raised our GDP growth forecast for the current financial year 2026-27 from 6.6% in April to 7.1% as growth has been stronger than expected despite trade and geopolitical uncertainties.”

According to the World Bank report, rural consumption initially outpaced urban demand. This was supported by stronger agricultural performance, rural income support, food subsidies and lower inflation. Urban consumption strengthened during the remainder of the year following income-tax relief and reductions in the Goods and Services Tax (GST). As a result, industrial activity has also performed better than expected despite global headwinds since April.

It may be recalled that India’s real GDP growth was 7.8% in the first quarter of FY2026-27 (April-June). According to the latest World Bank assessment, India’s economy grew by 7.6% in FY2025-26, compared with 7.1% in FY2024-25.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar