Brushing aside global rating agency S&P’s forecast, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council on Monday said growth is expected to pick up in the second half of this fiscal and reach 6.7 per cent for entire 2012-13.
“I think it is a wrong assessment. I do not know the basis for the growth rate estimated by the rating agencies. But we stand by the growth rate that we have forecast that is 6.7 per cent”, PMEAC Chairman C Rangarajan told PTI.
Replying to a question from reporters earlier on Standard and Poor’s lowering GDP forecast to 5.5 per cent, he said the growth rate was expected to pick up in the second half of this fiscal and reach 6.7 per cent for 2012-13.
There were enough indications to this effect, he said pointing out that monsoon had turned out to be better than forecast a few months ago.
S&P’s today lowered its 2012 GDP growth forecast for India to 5.5 per cent, citing the weak monsoon and investor sentiments. The estimate of 5.5 per cent is down by about one percentage point from the earlier one.
He exuded confidence that the economic growth rate during the current fiscal would be “better” than last year. “The growth last year was 6.5 per cent, we had forecast a growth rate of 6.7 per cent for the current fiscal. I think we hold on to that growth rate.”
Observing that the agriculture sector would do better than expected, Rangarajan said, “the monsoon has been better and the manufacturing growth will pick up in the second half of the year“.
“Overall during the year, the growth rate will be around 6.7 per cent,” he said after inaugurating the Indian Overseas Bank, Platinum Jubilee block at Madras School of Economics.