Indian stocks rose, sending the benchmark equity index toward its first weekly gain in three weeks, amid a rally in global equities and expectations for faster economic growth.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (MM), the largest maker of sport-utility vehicles and tractors, climbed the most in two weeks. Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), owner of the world’s largest refining complex, headed for its biggest increase in seven weeks. Copper producer Sesa Sterlite Ltd. climbed for a third day.

The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) advanced 1.3 percent to 27,470.13 at 1:02 p.m. in Mumbai. The MSCI Asia Pacific index jumped 1.8 percent as global equities extended gains after the Federal Reserve said it’ll be patient with interest-rate increases. India’s economy is projected to grow 5.5 percent in the year ending March 2015, a government official, who asked not to be identified citing rules, said today. The nation’s gross domestic product grew 4.7 percent last year.

“We are reasonably constructive on the Indian markets,” Sridhar Sivaram, managing director at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, said in an interview to Bloomberg TV India today. “All the building blocks for an economic recovery are very much is place.”

The Sensex, set to rise 0.4 percent this week, has climbed 30 percent this year, its biggest annual gain since 2009.

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Mahindra & Mahindra climbed 1.9 percent, halting three days of declines. Tata Motors Ltd. increased 1.7 percent. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL), the nation’s biggest carmaker, gained 0.8 percent to a record high, extending this year’s rally to 94 percent, the most among Sensex constituents.

Reliance Industries added 2.9 percent, bound for the sharpest gain since Oct. 30. Sesa increased 2.7 percent, poised for a third day of advances.

The Sensex is valued at 15.1 times its projected 12-month earnings, near the cheapest level since May. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index trades at a multiple of 11.

Global investors sold a net $ 253.4 million of local shares on Dec. 17, paring this year’s inflow to $ 16.6 billion, the most in Asia after Japan, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rajhkumar K Shaaw in Mumbai at rshaaw@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Richard Frost at rfrost4@bloomberg.net Phani Varahabhotla, Allen Wan