Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said he would be happy if the Indian economy grew by over 8.5 per cent in the current financial year, even as agencies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had projected a higher growth rate.
“IMF has projected 9.4-9.5 per cent growth for this year. But I will be happy with over 8.5 per cent growth because there are always uncertainties in the global market,” Mukherjee said at a conference on financial inclusion organised by CII.
Earlier this month, IMF revised the growth forecast for the Indian economy to grow from 8.8 per cent to 9.4 per cent in 2010.
The finance ministry has been maintaining that the economy will grow 8.5 per cent during the current financial year, compared with 7.4 per cent last year.
Mukherjee said the current debt crisis in Europe was not likely to affect the Indian economy.
“If the European crisis takes a larger shape and affects all of Europe, I can’t say what will happen. Looking at the current state of European crisis, it is unlikely to affect India,” he said.
The Indian economy had shown resilience, coming out of the global slowdown faster than others, he said.