WEF economists back India’s strongest global growth outlook (Img: Dynamite News)
New Delhi: India continues to stand out in the global economic landscape, with chief economists surveyed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) maintaining that the country has the strongest growth outlook among major regions.
The WEF’s September 2026 'Chief Economists’ Outlook' projects India’s GDP growth at 6.7 per cent for 2026-27, supported by continued resilience in domestic demand.
The report examines 10 regions, including the United States, Europe, China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
A total of 92 chief economists from the public and private sectors participated in the survey. Among them, 74 per cent expect strong or very strong growth in India, up from 52 per cent in May. Meanwhile, 98 per cent foresee moderate or stronger growth over the next 12 months.
On employment, 70 per cent of respondents expect unemployment to remain unchanged over the coming year. Another 17 per cent anticipate a rise, while 13 per cent expect a decline.
The unemployment rate among people aged 15 and above fell to 5 per cent in August from 5.1 per cent in July. At the same time, labour force participation rose from 55.4 per cent to 55.6 per cent.
"These developments point to relatively stable labour market conditions alongside strong activity, although sustained employment creation remains important," the report said.
The WEF report also noted that inflation expectations for India have eased since May. About 55 per cent of chief economists expect moderate inflation over the next 12 months, while 45 per cent see inflation remaining high.
That compares with 61 per cent of respondents who had expected high or very high inflation in May.
Consumer price inflation, however, rose to 4.8 per cent in August. While that was above the medium-term target of 4 per cent, it remained within the Reserve Bank of India’s 2–6 per cent tolerance band.
On monetary policy, "A majority (67 per cent) of respondents expect monetary policy to remain unchanged, while 24 per cent anticipate tightening. The policy rate was kept at 5.25 per cent in August, alongside a neutral policy stance," the report stated.
Fiscal policy is also expected to remain largely unchanged, with 72 per cent predicting stability and 22 per cent expecting a looser stance.
"Strong growth and inflation that remains within the tolerance range are broadly consistent with survey expectations of policy stability," the report said.
The survey was completed on August 20, before India released its latest GDP figures on August 31. Those figures showed the economy expanded by 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of FY27.
The stronger-than-expected performance has since led to several upward revisions to India’s growth forecasts. Moody’s, for example, raised its FY27 GDP growth estimate to 7 per cent from 6 per cent earlier, citing the resilience of the Indian economy amid the war in West Asia.
