Washington: The International Monetary Fund
on Thursday said Indian economy will grow by 6.75 per cent this
fiscal and return to its pre-crisis level of 8 per cent next
year even if the developed world remains sluggish.
Agriculture is likely to contract by about one per cent
in 2009-10 due to the drought, the IMF said on the conclusion
of the IMF's Executive Board consultations with India on
January 25. But non-farm GDP growth is expected to gather
momentum.
"Prompt fiscal and monetary easing, combined with the
fiscal stimulus already in the pipeline and the return of risk
appetite in financial markets, have brought growth close to
pre-crisis levels," it said.
"With India's long-term prospects remaining strong and
private sector balance sheets sound, we expect growth to be
back at potential in 2010-11 even if advanced economies grow
below trend," the IMF said.
IMF's rather conservative estimate comes days after the
Reserve Bank of India projected 7.5 per cent growth in this
fiscal, higher from its earlier estimate of 6 per cent, in its
quarterly monetary policy review.
RBI upped its growth projection after the economy grew
by a stunning 7.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2009.
The Finance Ministry's mid-term review of the economy too
gave an optimistic projection of 7.75 per cent for the current
fiscal.
PTI
First Published: Friday, February 05, 2010, 00:06