The World Bank has upgraded its growth forecast for India, revising it to 7 per cent for financial year 2024-25 from its earlier estimate of 6.6 per cent, it said in a report named “India Development Update: India’s Trade Opportunities in a Changing Global Context” released on Tuesday. The report stated that India remained the fastest-growing major economy and grew at a rapid clip of 8.2 per cent in FY23/24, boosted by public infrastructure investment and an upswing in household investments in real estate. On the services side, it added, the growth was supported by a buoyant manufacturing sector, which grew by 9.9 per cent, and resilient services activity, which compensated for underperformance in agriculture. Another positive trend, the India Development Update (IDU) added, is the gradual improvement in urban unemployment with more female workers joining the workforce. Female urban unemployment fell to 8.5 per cent in early FY24/25, although urban youth unemployment remained elevated at 17 per cent. It also said that 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 of cover.