UN: India’s economy could grow at 6.6 percent in 2025, UN estimates

New Delhi| The growth rate of the Indian economy may be 6.6% in 2025. This will be helped mainly by strong private consumption and investment. Along with this, economic growth in South Asia is also expected to remain strong this year.According to the report, this will be possible mainly due to India’s strong performance. The joint has said this in one of its reports.

‘United Nations World Economic Situation & Prospects According to the 2025’ report, “The near-term outlook for South Asia is expected to remain strong, with growth projected at 5.7 per cent in 2025 and 6.0 per cent in 2026”. This is driven by strong performance in India as well as economic recovery in some other economies including Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka

India’s economy is projected to grow at 6.8 percent in 2024 and at 6.6 percent in 2025. The Indian economy is projected to return to a growth rate of 6.8 percent again in 2026. ‘‘The Indian economy, the largest in the South Asia region, is projected to grow by 6.6 percent in 2025, supported mainly by strong private consumption and investment, the report said. In addition, capital expenditure on infrastructure development is expected to have a strong impact on growth in the coming years.’’

According to the report favorable monsoon rains in 2024 will improve summer sowing of all major crops which is likely to increase agricultural production in 2025. The UN has said in its report that investment in East Asia and South Asia has increased strongly. This growth is partly driven by domestic and foreign investment in new supply chains, especially in India, Indonesia and Vietnam…

Citing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, the report said employment indicators in India remained strong till 2024, keeping labor force participation near record levels. Urban unemployment stood at 6.6 percent over this period-almost unchanged from the 6.7 percent rate recorded in 2023. Also, the female workforce in the country has increased but despite this, gender inequality persists.

According to the report, climate-related shocks have badly affected South Asia in 2024. Many countries in the region, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, experienced heatwaves, droughts and erratic rainfall in the first half of the year, which led to lower crop yields and higher food prices. Apart from this, weather related events have disproportionately affected poor rural families, people’s income has decreased and income inequality has also increased.