India in a relative 'bright spot', must leverage exports, says IMF official

India is in a relative "bright spot" in the world economy, but needs to leverage its existing strength in services exports and extend it to job-rich manufacturing exports, a top official at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday.

"India is a relative bright spot in the world economy today, growing at rates significantly," IMF Deputy Managing Director Antoinette Sayeh said at an event in New Delhi.

"Macroeconomic policies are responding to the significant headwinds, with fiscal policy measures supporting vulnerable groups and monetary policy addressing persistently high inflation."


India's headline inflation moderated to an 11-month low 5.88% in November from 6.77% the month before. The Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee has increased the policy repo rate by 225 basis points since May last year to reign in inflation.

(Inputs from Reuters)