IMF: India could outpace China as fastest growing economy already in 2015

According to International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, India could surpass China in economic growth pace as soon as this year.

Lagarde, said the country's economy is expected to grow 7.5% in the upcoming 2015-2016 fiscal year, which begins in April, up from 7.2% in the current fiscal year. India would be the world's fastest growing large economy at that rate

Back in 2014, the IMF had forecast that India's economy would grow by 6.5% in 2016, faster than China's predicted 6.3% expansion. Estimates have since been revised for Indian gross domestic product.

However, even with the faster pace of growth, India doesn't approach China in terms of raw economic power.

According to IMF data, China's economic output totaled more than $10 trillion in 2014, compared with India's roughly $2 trillion, though predictions do not nesessarily come true.

"The conditions are ripe for India to reap the demographic dividend and become a key engine for global growth," Lagarde told students at an event organized at a women's college in New Dehil on March. 16. "It is on the verge of a new chapter, filled with immense promise."

"Recent policy reforms and improved business confidence" provided a "booster shot" for the economy, Lagarde considers.

The pro-business government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made economic growth a top priority. India's authorities announced plans to cut taxes on businesses, boost spending on infrastructure, among other broad initiatives.

India's economy will have doubled in size compared with 2009, Lagarde stated. Indian output is also on the way to exceeding the combined output of Russia, Brazil and Indonesia.

India's upbeat outlook reflects its growing and young population. More than half of the country's 1.25 billion population is below the age of 25, with 12 million Indians entering the workforce every year.

By 2030, India is expected to top China as the world's most populous nation, Lagarde says.