India in much better place to tackle Ukraine crisis post COVID-19 management: IMF

A day after projecting an 8.2% GDP growth trajectory for India in 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that India is relatively in a better position to tackle the economic fallout of the ongoing Russia-led war on Ukraine.

Acknowledging that India has 'successfully' managed the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior IMF official said the approach resulted in a strong recovery of the world's fastest-growing major economy.

Having underscored that India represents about 7% of the total world economy in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms and is one of the countries that are growing rapidly, IMF's Mission Chief for India Nada Choueiri told PTI that the country's growth is lifting the global economy and is very important for a well-functioning global economy. 

'Important role that India is playing today is provision of COVID-19 vaccines': IMF

"So, here you have an important contribution. The other important role that India is playing today is in the provision of vaccines, she said on Wednesday.

As a significant vaccine producer, India has a role also in managing future pandemics, she added.  

In addition, Choueiri said that India's macroeconomic management of the pandemic resulted in a strong recovery although the recovery is not concluded. "So, India is in a much better place today to face the crisis from the Ukraine shock than it was at the time of the taper tantrum. But the global economy is in a very difficult place today because of the shocks," she stated. 

'India took important measures' amid global economic crisis

Indicating her impression of the performance of the Indian economy during the global economic crunch since the COVID-19 outbreak, Choueiri said India took important measures on a spectrum of policies. 

"We saw sound fiscal management to get things right, create fiscal space, respond to the immediate needs of the population. We also saw proactive monetary policy to respond to the needs of the financial system and of the corporate sector to support the liquidity needs during the pandemic," she said.

Downgrading points by 0.8% in its projections from its previous 9% growth for the year 2022, the IMF slated an 8.2% for India in the latest World Economic Outlook.