finance minister satisfied with 4.9% growth rate, expects pick up in next fiscal

New Delhi -Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday expressed satisfaction over the growth projections for 2013-14 and exuded confidence that it will improve significantly in the next fiscal.

Commenting on the CSO(Central Statistical Organization) figures that projected a growth of 4.9 percent GDP in the current fiscal, he said, “This means that growth in the second half of 2013-14 has been better than growth in the first half of the fiscal.”

The growth rate in the first half (April-September) in 2013-14 was 4.6 percent.

“We had anticipated that growth in the second half will improve and I am happy that our estimate has come true. This estimate of 4.9 percent for the whole year will in all likelihood be revised upwards in the first, second and final revisions over the next two years.

“I am confident that the final estimate will be not less than 5 percent for the whole year”, he told the agency.

Chidambaram said he was particularly happy that agriculture growth has been estimated at 4.6 percent for 2013-14.

India’s economic growth rate in the current financial year has been estimated at 4.9 per cent, a faster pace than in the previous year, mainly on an improved performance in the agriculture and allied sectors.

“The growth in GDP during 2013-14 is estimated at 4.9 per cent as compared to the growth rate of 4.5 per cent in 2012-13,” according to advanced estimates released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The CSO had lowered growth for 2012-13 to 4.5 per cent in its revised estimates from an earlier provisional forecast of 5 per cent.