7-8% GDP growth annually will lead India to its US$5 trillion

The country's goal to become a USD 5 trillion economy in the next few years from USD 2.7 trillion is "achievable" and its GDP requires to grow only at 7-8 per cent per annum to meet the target, an expert said on Saturday.

"In order to achieve the target of USD 5 trillion economy in five years, we require to grow at 7-8 per cent if inflation of even 4 per cent is taken into account. It is achievable, though it may not be easy," Calcutta Stock Exchange chairman Bhaskar Banerjee said in a post-budget analysis meet organised by Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI)and consulting company KPMG.

Elaborating, Banerjee, a member of the expert advisory committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), said the goal may seem to be "a herculean task even impossible" if this target (USD 5 trillion) is considered on a "constant price".

The Economic Survey 2018-19 said India needs to sustain a real GDP growth rate of 8 per cent to achieve the objective of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy by 2024-25.

During her budget speech on Friday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said within 5 years the country's economy has reached US$ 2.7 trillion from USD 1.85 trillion in 2014. There it is within our capacity to reach the US$ 5 trillion in the next few years.

Sitharaman had also said Indian economy would grow to become a USD 3 trillion economy in the current year.

The latest economic survey had projected a GDP growth rate of 7 per cent for the current fiscal, marginally up from the five-year low of 6.8 per cent recorded in the previous fiscal.