Refusing to be swayed by the IMF’s growth projection of around 9.5 per cent for 2010, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said he would be happy if the economy clocks a growth rate of over 8.5 per cent in the current fiscal.
“Always we have dispute with IMF. I was inclined to accept the IMF assessment for India’s growth for the year when they projected it ... may be around 9.4-9.5 per cent,” Mr. Mukherjee said at a conference on financial inclusion hosted by industry body CII.
“Still I am being conservative in my assessment ... I will be happy with 8.5 per cent plus growth,” Mr. Mukherjee added.
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hiked India’s growth forecast for calendar year 2010 to 9.5 per cent from its April projection of 8.8 per cent.
