Dun & Bradstreet pegs 2014 growth at 5.5 pc

Recent decisions on the policy front are expected to help push up economic growth to 5.5 per cent next year from 4.8 per cent estimated for 2013-14, Dun & Bradstreet said today .
"Growth will recover, albeit moderately, during 2014 on improved policy environment, projects cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Investment, expectations of receding inflationary pressures along with some revival in demand conditions," the global research firm said in a note.
The jump in growth will come in the second half of the year as the effect of the policy decisions takes place, it added.
The report said GDP growth in 2013 will come in at 4.8 per cent, down from 5.1 per cent last year.

It can be noted that the GDP growth increased to 4.8 per cent for the quarter ended September from the 4.4 per cent earlier, making the half year average a poor 4.6 per cent.
The government is estimating it to touch 5 per cent this fiscal ending which is way below the potential growth rate.

D&B said due to a deterioration in private demand, significant dip in investments and increase in the number of stalled projects worth over Rs 17 trillion it expects the industrial sector to grow only at 1.9 per cent in 2013, which it sees growing to 3 per cent in 2014 on revival in investments and uptick in sentiment.

On the services sector front, it expects 2013 growth to be at 6.5 per cent, which will accelerate to 7.2 per cent in 2014 on improvement in global conditions.
Inflation, which has been one of the primary concerns preventing RBI from easing its policy rates, will cool to an average of 5.8 per cent in 2014 measured by wholesale prices as against the 6.4 per cent expected in 2013, it said.