India to witness faster growth in 2018-19: Deloitte

New Delhi, March 14 (IANS) Increased infrastructure spending and a revival in rural demand are likely to drive India's growth in the coming fiscal, according to a report by Britain-based advisory multinational Deloitte.

Deloitte's Voice of Asia report, released on Wednesday, expects faster than expected growth for Indian economy against the backdrop of increasing crude oil prices, trade protectionism posing major challengeand volatile market conditions.

"The improvement in domestic conditions is a positive sign that growth is picking up and will continue to maintain strong momentum in 2018, retaining India's position as the 'fastest growing large economy' in the world," a Deloitte statement said here.

The report said the negative effects of reforms like GST and demonetisation are receding and there is high optimism in domestic demand in the form of consumption and revival in small scale business, resulting in increased foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into India.

"After a year of disruptions and growth slowdown, Indian economy is consolidating the gains from the recent reforms and is moving in the right direction," Deloitte India Lead Economist Anis Chakravarty said in a statement. 

"With a steady increase in FDI inflows and pick-up in growth in the Q3 of 2017, 2018 will expectedly remain a period of strong growth for India with a growth rate of around 6.8 - 6.9 per cent," he added.