India's economy to hold top spot for GDP

NEW DELHI, July 24 (Reuters): India's economy will grow at a solid pace for the rest of this fiscal year and next but well below its potential rate, according to a Reuters poll of economists who also said the employment situation will improve only slightly.
The world's most populous country aspires to leapfrog to the status of a developed nation, riding on the unprecedented demographic dividend, which demands an annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of around 8 per cent for the next 25 years.
But reaching this milestone hinges on implementing key reforms in education, infrastructure, healthcare and technology.
"If we want to realize that 8 per cent growth potential this decade...the biggest challenge before policymakers is to reallocate the surplus labour from agriculture to more productive sectors with gainful jobs in them," said Dhiraj Nim, economist at ANZ Research.