India has been a laggard among G20 nations in terms of employment generation and the country needs to create an additional 148 million jobs by 2030 given the population growth, IMF's First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said on Saturday.

India is open to exploring more ways to increase its collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during a meeting with IMF's First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath on Saturday.

Dr. Gita Gopinath of the IMF projects India will become the third-largest economy by 2027, following Prime Minister Modi's Independence Day address. India, now the fifth-largest economy, showed strong growth in FY24, with rising private consumption and resilience in FMCG, amid improved agricultural conditions.