India's economy grew at a quick pace in recent years. Its $1.2 trillion economy, Asia's largest after Japan and China, is accelerating as rising economic power boosts demand for further development.

Some economists say Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has made slow progress in creating new capacity in infrastructure such as power, roads and ports, which is adding to inflation pressures and limiting economic expansion.

IMF Mission Chief to India Masahiko Takeda is confidence in India’s economy. He said: "Before the global financial crisis India was growing at a rate above 9 percent. And, of course, during the crisis there was a slowdown, but more recently the growth has picked up to close to 9 percent. And over the medium term we expect that India will continue growing at a pretty high rate."

However, inflation has been one of the concerns many experts have had about India's economic stability. Masahiko said inflation measured by various indicators was double-digit.

"It has come down to a high single digit more recently, partly because the high food prices caused by the bad monsoon rain last year are dropping out of the sample," he said. "But still, we see a pretty strong underlying inflation pressure."

Masahiko praised India's declining poverty thanks to the rapid growth, but he warned that India still has a long way to go.

He cited the Indian government’s efforts to cope with the issue through ambitious social programs, and its emphasis on the importance of infrastructure investment for future growth.

"Without future growth, employment won't be generated and then poverty reduction does not happen," Masahiko said.

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