• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday projected a growth rate of 7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019 for India.

• The IMF on Monday forecast of 7.3 per cent in 2018 and 7.5 per cent in 2019 for India, is down by 0.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively than its April projections.
• The lower projection than earlier, reflecting negative effects of higher oil prices on domestic demand and faster than ­anticipated monetary policy tightening due to higher expected inflation.
• The IMF report says, India’s growth rate is expected to rise from 6.7% in 2017 to 7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019, as drags from the currency exchange initiative(demonetization) and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax fade.
• Despite this slight downgrade in its projections, India continues to outperform China, IMF’s update figures reflect.
• Growth in China is projected to moderate from 6.9% in 2017 to 6.6% in 2018 and 6.4% in 2019.
• The IMF said global growth is projected to reach 3.9% in 2018 and 2019, in line with the forecast of the April 2018.

• The IMF, also known as the Fund, was conceived at a UN conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, in July 1944.
• The 44 countries at that conference sought to build a framework for economic cooperation to avoid a repetition of the competitive devaluations that had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
•  Now the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
• The IMF's primary purpose is to ensure the stability of the international monetary system—the system of exchange rates and international payments that enables countries (and their citizens) to transact with each other.
• IMF is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

The Hindu.