Pranab confident of returning to 9% GDP growth

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

"We can and we shall (achieve nine% GDP growth)," Mukherjee said while replying to debate on General Budget in Lok Sabha.

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

Crude prices has become a big concern for the government as it is over $100 a barrel, mainly driven by political unrest in the Middle-East, first in Egypt and now in Libya.

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

As per the CSO data, Indian economy is estimated to grow by 8.6% in the current fiscal.

Indian economy seems to have reverted to the high growth trajectory as can be seen by the 8.9% 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%.

The Indian economy had grown at a rate above 9% for three consecutive years, starting 2005-06, before the global financial meltdown brought it down to 6.8% 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, Indian economy registered a growth rate of 8%.