evidence: NEW DELHI, September 3, 2024 — The Indian economy continues to grow at a healthy pace despite challenging global conditions, according to World Bank’s latest India Development Update: India’s Trade Opportunities in a Changing Global Context. But to reach its $1 trillion merchandise exports goal by 2030, India needs to diversify its export basket and leverage global value chains. The India Development Update (IDU) observes that India remained the fastest-growing major economy and grew at a rapid clip of 8.2 percent in FY23/24. Growth was boosted by public infrastructure investment and an upswing in household investments in real estate. On the supply side, it was supported by a buoyant manufacturing sector, which grew by 9.9 percent, and resilient services activity, which compensated for underperformance in agriculture. Reflecting these trends, urban unemployment has improved gradually since the pandemic, especially for female workers. Female urban unemployment fell to 8.5 percent in early FY24/25, although urban youth unemployment remained elevated at 17 percent. With a narrowing of the current account deficit and strong foreign portfolio investment inflows, foreign exchange reserves reached an all-time high of $670.1 billion in early August, equivalent to over 11 months oft cover (in FY23/24 import terms).