India remains one of the strongest pillars of global growth even as the world economy turns more unpredictable amid rising tariffs, uneven expansion, and the rapid advance of artificial intelligence (AI), International Monetary Fund ( IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday.
Answering ET Online's query at an IMF press conference, Georgieva said, “India is one of the fastest growing economy. It contributes to global growth substantially.”
While commending India’s economic momentum, Georgieva said the country could benefit from closer trade integration. “India itself can aim for a higher degree of trade integration with partners. India has still maintained some barriers to trade — tariffs, restrictions,” she said.
She pointed to shifting global trade patterns, led by major economies adopting tariff measures. “There is a significant change. The largest economy of world has chosen to use tariffs as an instrument in relation with partners,” Georgieva said. “The rest of the world has not followed so far. Out of 191 members of IMF, we have seen only 3 moving more forcefully on tariffs — US, China and Canada.”
Also Read: India must ‘fire all cylinders’ to sustain growth and boost trade, says IMF
The IMF has raised India’s economic growth forecast for FY26 to 6.6% from 6.4% estimated earlier, citing strong first quarter growth that more than offset the impact of higher US tariff on Indian goods.
The IMF chief said the world economy is “stuck at 3% growth right now,” adding that AI could provide the next wave of productivity gains. “AI will contribute to growth, somewhere between 0.1 to 0.8%. This is significant,” she said. “To extract that growth from AI, it would be very significant for the world.”
Georgieva announced the launch of the IMF’s AI Preparedness Index, d esigned to measure how ready countries are to leverage the technology. “Preparedness really matters, and it is happening fast. We don’t really have much time,” she said.
She also flagged growing imbalances across economies. “The global economy is excessively imbalanced,” Georgieva said, warning that diverging policy choices could deepen divides between advanced and emerging markets.
Turning to China, Georgieva said the economy has been “quite resilient to the turbulence that world has experienced,” but the IMF expects growth “to slow down to 4.2%.” “China is growing faster than the global average, and it is contributing to global growth,” she said.
Outlining Beijing’s policy challenges, she added, “Resolve real estate problems, they hold down consumer confidence. Increase social safety nets to boost consumer confidence, instead of investing in industrial policy. China has lot of opportunity to open up sectors that are currently not that market active, like services, education.”
Answering ET Online's query at an IMF press conference, Georgieva said, “India is one of the fastest growing economy. It contributes to global growth substantially.”
While commending India’s economic momentum, Georgieva said the country could benefit from closer trade integration. “India itself can aim for a higher degree of trade integration with partners. India has still maintained some barriers to trade — tariffs, restrictions,” she said.
She pointed to shifting global trade patterns, led by major economies adopting tariff measures. “There is a significant change. The largest economy of world has chosen to use tariffs as an instrument in relation with partners,” Georgieva said. “The rest of the world has not followed so far. Out of 191 members of IMF, we have seen only 3 moving more forcefully on tariffs — US, China and Canada.”
Also Read: India must ‘fire all cylinders’ to sustain growth and boost trade, says IMF
The IMF has raised India’s economic growth forecast for FY26 to 6.6% from 6.4% estimated earlier, citing strong first quarter growth that more than offset the impact of higher US tariff on Indian goods.
The IMF chief said the world economy is “stuck at 3% growth right now,” adding that AI could provide the next wave of productivity gains. “AI will contribute to growth, somewhere between 0.1 to 0.8%. This is significant,” she said. “To extract that growth from AI, it would be very significant for the world.”
Georgieva announced the launch of the IMF’s AI Preparedness Index, d esigned to measure how ready countries are to leverage the technology. “Preparedness really matters, and it is happening fast. We don’t really have much time,” she said.
She also flagged growing imbalances across economies. “The global economy is excessively imbalanced,” Georgieva said, warning that diverging policy choices could deepen divides between advanced and emerging markets.
Turning to China, Georgieva said the economy has been “quite resilient to the turbulence that world has experienced,” but the IMF expects growth “to slow down to 4.2%.” “China is growing faster than the global average, and it is contributing to global growth,” she said.
Outlining Beijing’s policy challenges, she added, “Resolve real estate problems, they hold down consumer confidence. Increase social safety nets to boost consumer confidence, instead of investing in industrial policy. China has lot of opportunity to open up sectors that are currently not that market active, like services, education.”
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