IMF

The agency emphasized the importance of a new IMF agreement to replace the expiring Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) in March, highlighting it as crucial to Pakistan's credit profile. While the country received a second tranche of over USD 700 million last month under the existing SBA, Fitch stressed the necessity of reaching a new agreement to alleviate external liquidity stress and mitigate the risk of default.

Government sources reported that the IMF has requested further details regarding the economic and legal feasibility of these proposals. While the IMF neither rejected nor accepted the proposals outright, it indicated a need for more thorough consideration, which would likely occur once an elected government assumes office. Additional discussions on the proposals are expected after Pakistani authorities provide the requested information and the IMF conducts internal reviews.

She identified India's digital initiatives, including digital public infrastructure, digital ID, and the emphasis on making digital a comparative strength, as significant advantages. Georgieva commended India for recognizing the need to enhance female participation in the labor market and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to empowering Indian women economically.

Speaking at a session during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024, Gopinath dismissed market speculations regarding an imminent cut in interest rates as premature. She cautioned against anticipating central banks to aggressively reduce rates, emphasizing that it is too early to reach such conclusions.

While the US dollar remains the dominant reserve currency globally, the euro comes second, with its share sliding to 19.6%. The Japanese yen's proportion of world reserves grew slightly to 5.5%, while the Chinese yuan, British pound, Canadian dollar, and Swiss franc saw minimal changes in their shares.

The IMF Directors commend India's prudent policies, economic performance, and call for sustained stability and key structural reforms to unlock the country's potential.

This was stated by the finance ministry's economic review for September 2023. "Strong private consumption demand has been a major driver of India’s economic growth in the recent period," the review released on Monday said. In addition, it said that at least two additional drivers of growth have emerged, the first is the gradual strengthening of investment demand.

Unveiling the bi-monthly monetary policy review, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on October 6 that the domestic economy exhibits resilience on the back of strong demand.