The Indian economic growth rate could slip from 9 per cent to as low as 6 per cent during the current fiscal on account of the adverse fallout of the global financial meltdown on the country, said former Chief Economic Advisor Shankar Acharya today.
"It would be lucky if we get 6 per cent (growth rate) this year," he said, while describing the 7.1 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate projection of the Research and Information System (RIS) for developing countries as "very optimistic".
Acharya probably came up with the most pessimistic growth projection at a mid-year review of the Indian economy organised by the India International Centre (IIC) here.
RIS Director-General Nagesh Kumar in his presentation projected an economic growth rate of 7.1 per cent for the current fiscal, even as he pitched for a fiscal stimulus of $50 billion to neutralise the impact of the global slowdown on the Indian economy.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its mid-year review of the credit policy, projected an economic growth rate of 7 to 7.5 per cent, while the chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC), Suresh Tendulkar, recently said the economy could grow by about 7 per cent, lower than the earlier projection of 7.7 per cent.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted a 7.8 per cent growth rate for India during the current year, which several experts at the mid-year review of the economy described as "motivated" to sub-serve the interests of the developed nations.