New Delhi, July 9 -- India will remain the fastest-growing among major economies over the next two years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday, even as it marginally lowered the country's near-term growth forecast amid higher energy prices and continued geopolitical uncertainty. The July 2026 update of the IMF World Economic Outlook (WEO) projects India's economy to grow by 6.4% in 2026-27, 0.1 percentage point lower than forecast in April. Growth is expected to accelerate to 6.7% in 2027-28, an upward revision of 0.2 percentage point. "India remains among the fastest-growing major economies, with growth projected at 6.4 percent, supported by strong momentum in private consumption and services activity," said the report. The IMF has also raised its estimate for growth in 2025-26 to 7.7% from 7.6% in its April report. To be sure, the IMF presents India's data on a fiscal-year basis, with the year marked 2026 corresponding to 2026-27. On a calendar-year basis, it expects India to grow by 7% in 2026 and 6.4% in 2027. The broader global outlook, however, is being shaped by what the IMF describes as two powerful but opposing forces. "Global economic activity and the outlook are being shaped by two major forces, pushing in opposite directions with asymmetric effects across countries, said the report. The first is "the negative supply shock induced by the war in the Middle East", while the second is an accelerating global technology cycle propelled by advances in and deployment of AI tools. The result is an unusually uneven global economy, according to the multilateral lender. Energy exporters outside the conflict zone are benefiting from improved terms of trade, while countries integrated into the technology value chain are receiving a boost from demand for semiconductors, data centres and AI-related equipment....