According to the World Bank, India's GDP is forecast to expand 7.5 percent in FY2019/20. "Credit growth will benefit from relatively more accommodative monetary policy amid benign inflationary conditions. Support from delayed fiscal consolidation will partially offset the effects of political uncertainty on economic activity around elections in May," says the World Bank in its twice-a-year regional economic update.

South Asia holds on to its top spot as the world's fastest growing region, with growth set to step up to 7.0 percent in 2019, then 7.1 percent in 2020 and 2021, but the region needs to increase its exports to sustain its high growth and reach its full economic potential, says the World Bank.

The latest edition of the ‘South Asia Economic Focus, Exports Wanted', finds that the region's growth, while still robust, is mainly driven by domestic demand, which in turn swelled imports and far outstripped exports, further widening trade gaps and current account deficits, and triggering currency depreciation in some countries.

"South Asia's exports performance has dropped in the last few years to languish at far below its potential and while growth still looks robust we are concerned about whether this can hold up over the longer term," said Hartwig Schafer, World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region. "To ensure growth in the long run, the region needs to integrate further into international markets to sustain its upward growth trajectory, create more jobs, and boost prosperity for its people."

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