Arvind Panagariya pegs economic growth at 7 to 7.5% in FY18

Earlier today, the Economic Survey fixed the country's economic growth at 6.5%

Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya on Tuesday expressed hope that the economic growth in the next financial year would be in the range of 7-7.5 per cent.

"By nature, I am an optimist, so I would remain on the higher side of it. So, if you feel that this range is too wide, personally, I would narrow it down to 7-7.5 per cent and maybe on the higher side of it with higher probability," Panagariya told CNBC-TV18.

Niti Aayog vice chairman's statement assumes significance as it comes after the Economic Survey. The pre-budget document pegged India's economic growth for 2017-18 in the range of 6.75-7.5 per cent.

 

The Economic Survey for 2016-17, tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, on Tuesday pegged India's economic growth at 6.5 per cent for the current fiscal, down from 7.6 per cent recorded in the last financial year, but it added that growth is expected to rebound in the range of 6.75-7.5 per cent in 2017-18.

The Survey's GDP growth figure for the current fiscal is lower than 7.1 per cent the Central Statistics Office had forecast earlier this month.