Signs of upturn in economy, growth likely to be 5.5%: FM

Not happy with CSO's growth projection, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said there are signs of upturn in the economy and it is likely to grow at a higher rate of 5.5 per cent this fiscal and further improve to 6-7 per cent in 2013-14. "While 5 per cent growth rate of CSO is low and is a matter of concern...We believe growth will be closer to 5.5 per cent rather than CSO's estimate of 5 per cent", he said while launching the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS) here. The Minister further said that Central Statistical Organisation's (CSO) estimate of 5 per cent was not the lowest of the decade. "It is still higher than the two record lows of 2000-01 and 2002-03. There are signs of upturn and that will take us back to high growth path," Chidambaram said. The Minister further said: "We should without any reason, denigrate our own performance and record. "I have no doubt in my mind that we will come out of trough and we will climb back to growth rate of between 6-7 per cent next year and then between 7 and 8 per cent in the year after." CSO's advance growth estimate of 5 per cent for the current fiscal has evoked sharp reaction from Finance Ministry which said that it has based the projection on data available till November, and ignored the signs of uptrend. MORE