India Development Update - April 2026

Despite heightened global trade tensions in FY26, India remained the fastest-growing major economy, with growth accelerating to 7.6 percent, up from 7.1 percent in FY25. The current account deficit stood at 1 percent of GDP, and fiscal consolidation continued, bringing the general government deficit to 7.4 percent of GDP. Employment rates remained stable, and formal job creation strengthened. In FY27, growth is projected at 6.6 percent, reflecting headwinds from the Middle East conflict. While India's strong macroeconomic buffers offer some protection against downside risks, the conflict underscores the importance of energy diversification, prudent fiscal management, and trade diversification. A technical Annex of this update discusses India's February 2026 GDP rebasing, which updated the base year to 2022-23. This process led to a downward revision of nominal GDP levels, reflecting a reassessment of the size of the informal economy. https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/4262e1e15b463ecb360cec4ad78cf062-0310012026/india-development-update-april-2026