IMF raises India's GDP forecast to 6.8% for 2024-25

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised India's growth forecast for 2024-25 to 6.8% from 6.5% on the back of strong domestic demand and a rising working-age population.

The Reserve Bank of India, the country's central bank, estimates the economy to grow at 7% in the current financial year that started on April 1.

The IMF estimates Asia's third largest economy's gross domestic product to grow at 6.5% in the next financial year, it said in the World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday.

The agency also revised upwards the growth figure for 2023-24 to 7.8% from 6.7% it had forecast in January. India's own official estimates had pegged growth at 7.6%.

"Global economy remains remarkably resilient, with growth holding steady as inflation returns to target," the IMF said while predicting the global real GDP growth at 3.2% for 2024 and 2025, the same rate as in 2023.

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Arun Koyyur)