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.
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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.