India may attain 8-9% growth in 1-2 yrs: WB chief

World Bank President Robert Zoellick today said India is likely to return to high growth of 8 to 9 per cent in a year or two, helped by strong fiscal and monetary actions to counter the global financial crisis.

The country's 11th Five Plan ending in 2012 envisaged achieving an average 9 per cent growth rate. GDP growth slipped to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09, after three years of over 9 per cent growth, as a result of the global crisis.

Zoellick, winding up his four-day visit here, said return to that level appears possible over the next one to two years.

"India has emerged from the economic crisis with a clear vision of what it will take to accelerate back to earlier growth rates and beyond," he said.

The strong fiscal and monetary policies of India had helped counteract a decline in exports and withstand some of the external shocks brought on by the multiple food, fuel and financial crises, he said.

Impressed with the country's macro-financial management and anti-poverty programmes, Zoellick said India is important for global recovery.