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India has recorded an average annual economic growth rate of 8 per cent during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12) compared to a targeted 9 per cent, Parliament was informed today.
“The shortfall in achievement of (various growth targets) can be attributed both to internal and external factors viz. global slowdown, fluctuations in international prices, strong inflationary pressures and negative growth in agriculture due to a drought-like situation,” Planning Minister Rajeev Shukla said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
He said India’s annual average economic growth rate remained at 8 per cent compared to the targeted 9 per cent for the 11th Plan.
Besides the farm sector grew at an average rate of 3.7 per cent as against 4 per cent targeted in the five-year policy period.
As against an annual average growth of 10-11 per cent envisaged for the industry during the period, the actual annual average growth stood at 7.2 per cent during the Plan period.
The services sector grew at an average rate of 9.7 per cent per annum compared to the targeted 9-11 per cent in the five-year period, he said in the reply.
Meanwhile in another written reply to the House, Shukla said, “several steps have been undertaken to address the slowdown in GDP growth, including the setting up of the Cabinet Committee on Investment to fast-track large infrastructure projects, strengthening of the financial and banking sector and steps to increase infrastructure financing.”
In its advance estimates, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has pegged economic growth in the current fiscal at 4.9 per cent, which would be slightly higher than the 4.5 per cent achieved in 2011-12.
According to the statement, the approach to the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17) envisaged a 9 per cent annual average economic growth rate, which was later fixed at 8 per cent by the National Development Council (NDC) in December 2012 while approving the five-year policy.
These growth targets for the 12th Plan would be reassessed in the mid-term appraisal of the five-year policy in 2014-15.
In the backdrop of lower economic growth rates of 4.5 per cent in the first year of the 12th Plan (2012-13) and 4.9 per cent in the second year (2013-14), the annual average economic growth rate target for the entire five-year policy could be revised downwards, it is felt.
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