Finmin expects economy to expand close to 7% this fiscal

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the monsoon would be normal and with luck the country could surpass the GDP growth target of about 7 per cent.

"I do hope there will be recovery and it will be possible to achieve the target. It may be, if luck favours, we will surpass (the GDP target)," Mukherjee told reporters when asked whether it would be possible to achieve 7 per cent growth in view of poor monsoon.

The Economic Survey tabled by the government in Parliament today said the economy could expand by 7 per cent (plus/minus 0.75 percentage point) provided the monsoon turns out to be normal.

On the possibility of monsoon remaining below normal, he said, "It's not correct that monsoon has not come. Monsoon would be normal, we are expecting so and the meteorological forecast is also there."

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla said it is up to the government to take a decision on the issue of disinvestment and that the economic survey basically identifies certain crucial areas, which the economic policy makers would need to look at. One such area is disinvestment.     

On pricing of gas, Chawla said Petroleum Minister Murli Deora has already made it clear that he is not increasing the price at the moment and the burden will be on the upstream oil companies.     

On the possibility of raising the government's borrowing plans for the year, he said, "Those numbers will be available in the budget."