Current Affairs - Economy

7% is the revised GDP growth forecast for India in FY 2026–27 announced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF raised its projection from 6.4% by 60 basis points in its latest World Economic Outlook. The upward revision reflects resilient domestic demand, strong services sector activity, favourable demographic conditions, a growing domestic market, and structural reforms. Despite global inflation, high oil prices, and geopolitical tensions, India continues to demonstrate strong economic momentum. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), World Bank, and OECD projected India’s FY27 economic growth at 7.1%, according to the figures provided.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee increased the policy repo rate by 25 basis points in its October 2026 meeting, taking the repo rate to 5.50%. The decision was taken during the 63rd MPC meeting held from 5 to 7 October 2026 under RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra. A basis point is equal to one-hundredth of a percentage point, so a 25-bps increase represents a rise of 0.25 percentage points. The MPC cited strengthened inflationary pressures, including higher food and fuel prices, as an important reason for the rate hike. The policy stance was also changed to “calibrated tightening.”

7.1% is the World Bank’s revised GDP growth forecast for India for FY 2026-27. The World Bank raised its earlier projection of 6.6% made in April 2026, reflecting stronger-than-expected economic performance. India recorded 7.8% GDP growth in the first quarter of FY27, supported by robust private consumption, investment activity and strong performance across key sectors. Private consumption is expected to remain a major driver of growth, while higher public investment, infrastructure activity, stronger exports and resilient services are also supporting the outlook. However, global trade uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and a weak southwest monsoon remain important risks to India’s economic growth.

The Green Energy Corridor Phase-III (GEC-III) project aims to enable the transmission of up to 135 GW of renewable energy through India’s Intra-State Transmission System. The Union Cabinet approved the project with a total outlay of ₹1,86,405 crore, including 50 GWh of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). The project is targeted for completion by FY 2032-33, with ₹54,082 crore provided as Central Financial Support. GEC-III is designed to strengthen transmission infrastructure, integrate renewable energy into the national grid and improve grid flexibility. Battery storage will help manage renewable energy intermittency, transmission congestion and electricity demand during non-solar periods.

India ranked 31st in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026, which evaluates 110 economies based on factors supporting sustainable and resilient tourism development. Japan topped the 2026 ranking, followed by the United States, Spain, Australia and France. India ranked 39th out of 119 economies in the 2024 TTDI, showing an improvement in its position in the 2026 edition. India’s strong natural and cultural tourism resources, along with improvements in tourism infrastructure, services and connectivity, contributed to its performance. The TTDI measures the enabling environment for tourism rather than simply counting tourist arrivals or tourism revenue.