The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered its 2016 growth forecast for India from 7.4 per cent to 7 per cent.
In a supplement to its Asian Development Outlook 2016, the ADB has also said that ‘Developing Asia’, a group of 45 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, is now expected to expand at 5.6 per cent this year, rather than 5.7 per cent mainly on account of slower-than-expected expansion in India.
The ADB trimmed its growth forecast for India mainly on account of weak investment, agricultural slowdown and the government's recent demonetisation.
However, the ADB has kept India’s growth forecast for 2017 at 7.8 per cent.
The ADB has added that China will grow by 6.6 per cent in 2016 and 6.4 per cent in 2017.
"Asian economies continue their robust expansion in the face of global economic uncertainties," ADB deputy chief economist Juzhong Zhuang said.
"Structural reforms to boost productivity, improve investment climate and support domestic demand can help maintain growth momentum," he added.
