Allaying apprehensions that global events like high oil prices may impact growth, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, today exuded confidence that the economy would return to nine per cent growth in 2011-12.

“We can and we shall (achieve nine per cent GDP growth),” he said while replying to the debate on General Budget in the Lok Sabha.

“...In the year which we are coming to an end (GDP) is 8.6 per cent. And therefore if I project that my GDP growth will be 9 per cent, the figure is credible”, he said.

Crude prices have become a big concern for the Government as it is over $100 a barrel, mainly driven by political unrest in West Asia, first in Egypt and now in Libya.

The pre-Budget Economic Survey tabled in Parliament also projected the real GDP to grow by 9 per cent (+/-0.25) in 2011-12.

As per the CSO data, Indian economy is estimated to grow by 8.6 per cent in the current fiscal. The economy seems to have reverted to the high growth trajectory as can be seen by the 8.9 per cent growth registered in the first half of the current fiscal.

However, as per the latest CSO data, in the third quarter (October-December), the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at 8.2 per cent.

India achieved economic growth at a rate above 9 per cent for three consecutive years, starting 2005-06, before the global financial meltdown brought it down to 6.8 per cent in 2008-09.

In order to help the industry tide over the impact of the global financial crisis, the Government came up with three stimulus packages giving up about Rs 1.86 lakh crore in revenue.

The stimulus packages, which included tax cuts and raising public expenditure, helped the Indian economy to recover fast. In the last fiscal, the economy registered a growth rate of 8 per cent.

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