<h1 class="ql-align-center">Trade and Development Report 2021</h1> <h2>Context:</h2> <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Recently, UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) has released a new report titled,&nbsp;Trade and Development Report 2021.</li></ul> <h2>About:</h2> <ul><li>It is an annual report that provides a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of economic trends and policy issues of international concern.</li></ul> <ul><li>It offers recommendations for building a global economy that ensures a better future for all people and the planet.</li></ul> <h2>Highlights of the Report:</h2> <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">According to the report, India’s economic growth rate will increase to a four-year high of 7.2 percent in 2021 as compared to a contraction of 7 percent in 2020.</li></ul> <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">With this growth rate, India will be the fastest-growing economy after China.</li></ul> <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">China is projected to grow by 8.3 percent.</li></ul> <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">These calculations were made on the basis of GDP at constant dollars in 2015.</li></ul> <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">UNCTAD has also projected that India’s economy will outpace all other major economies in the year 2022 even though the growth would be slower, at 6.7 percent.</li></ul> <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">According to the report, India’s economy that reduced by seven percent in 2020, showed strong growth of 1.9 percent in the first quarter of 2021, in the backdrop of the momentum of the second half of 2020. It was also supported by government spending on goods and services.</li></ul> <h2 class="ql-align-justify">UNCTAD:</h2> <ul><li>United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was established in 1964 to promote development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy.</li></ul> <ul><li>UNCTAD is a&nbsp;permanent intergovernmental body headquartered in Geneva in Switzerland.</li></ul>