India's 2022 GDP growth downgraded to 4.6% due to ongoing war in Ukraine: UN report

India's projected economic growth for 2022 has been downgraded by over 2 per cent to 4.6 percent by the United Nations, a decrease attributed to the ongoing war in Ukraine, with New Delhi expected to face restraints on energy access and prices, reflexes from trade sanctions, food inflation, tightening policies and financial instability, according to a UN report released on Thursday.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report downgraded its global economic growth projection for 2022 to 2.6 percent from 3.6 percent due to shocks from the Ukraine war and changes in macroeconomic policies that put developing countries particularly at risk.

The report said while Russia will experience a deep recession this year, significant slowdowns in growth are expected in parts of Western Europe and Central, South and South-East Asia.

India was forecast to grow at 6.7 per cent in 2022 and this projection has been downgraded to 4.6 per cent by UNCTAD.

The report said as some of the other economies in South and Western Asia may gain some benefits from fast growth of demand and prices of energy, they will be hampered by the adversities in primary commodity markets, especially food inflation, and will be further hit by inherent financial instabilities.

India in particular will face restraints on several fronts: energy access and prices, primary commodity bottlenecks, reflexes from trade sanctions, food inflation, tightening policies and financial instability, it said.