Economy may grow 4.5-5% in second half of FY14: CII

India's economy is likely to grow in the range of 4.5 to 5% during the second half of the current fiscal, a CII survey said today.

The industry body does not see any possibility of a significant improvement in the GDP growth for the October- March period as against the first half of the current fiscal, and asked the government to take necessary steps to improve investment climate in the country and boost domestic demand.

In its survey report, the CII has predicted "the economy in the second half would grow in the range of 4.5-5%".

The country's economy grew by 4.6% in the first six months of the current financial year.

"The economy may have already bottomed out in the previous quarter and recovery process may already be in place, albeit fragile," the report said, adding that political uncertainty was the biggest concern.

To hasten the clearances of the held-up projects, the government should halve the threshold limit of fast-track projects from the current level of Rs 1,000 crore, it said.

"High food inflation, growth uncertainty and rising borrowing costs have all impeded consumer demand. With inflation showing some signs of moderation, it is time that the monetary policy is now directed at stimulating growth," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said in a statement.

It, however, said that exports are likely to increase at a moderate pace during the current quarter.

For the April-December period, exports aggregated $230.3 billion and imports $340.3 billion, while the trade deficit stood at $110 billion.

India's GDP growth in 2012-13 was the lowest in a decade, with the previous low of 4% recorded in 2002-03.