India's Growth Could Be Lower Than Earlier Projection: Pranab
Thursday, 20 October 2011, 00:12 IST
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New Delhi: India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth could be lower than the earlier projected level of 8 percent, given the turbulent global financial conditions, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. "Let me not hide the fact that I have been disappointed by our growth performance over the last few months," said Mukherjee while addressing the Economic Editors conference here. "It is evident that India's growth rate in 2011-12 will be less than what we were expecting in February when I presented the budget," the finance minister added. The economy was predicted to grow at 9 percent this fiscal. The April-June quarter saw GDP expanding by 7.7 percent -- the weakest in six quarters. India's industrial production has slowed down considerably in the past few months. It was registered at a sluggish 4.1 percent in August rising a bit from the 3.8 percent seen in July -- its lowest in almost two years. "Most observers are expecting India's growth to go down to below 8 percent. This is disappointing but at the same time we must not lose perspective of the global situation," said Mukherjee. The finance minister also said that he expected inflation, which has stuck to over 9 percent for 10 months now, to start coming down from December. "I am hoping that we will end the fiscal year around 7 percent," he said.
Source: IANS