IMF retains India's growth forecast at 5.4%

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday retained its projection for India’s GDP growth at 5.4 per cent in 2009, implying slower growth in the second half of this calendar year.

In its semiannual World Economic Outlook released in Istanbul, the Fund lowered the projection for the next year by 0.1 per cent to 6.4 per cent. The Indian economy grew by 5.8 per cent in the first quarter (January-March) and 6.1 per cent in the second quarter (April-June) of this calendar year.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia have expressed doubts whether the economy will grow at the rate of 6.1 per cent in the third and fourth quarters of 2009 due to an weak monsoon.