7% GDP growth not enough, says Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said a seven per cent growth rate recorded in the first quarter of current financial year “is not enough”, though many thought it was a fair growth rate.

“When our first quarter results were declared, in the midst of a global slowdown, many thought that seven per cent was a fair growth rate. But I must confess it didn't bring too many smiles on our faces, because India has actually started feeling that a seven per cent rate is not enough for us,” he said while addressing investors here.

The GDP growth slowed to seven per cent in the April-June quarter, from 7.5 per cent in the previous quarter, amid deceleration in farm, services and manufacturing sectors, as per CSO data released last month.

The government expects a growth rate of eight to 8.5 per cent for full 2015-16 financial year.

He said the government is boosting public investment in infrastructure sector to fuel growth and said the investment in railways would help push growth in other sectors, including steel.

“We have put in a lot of budgetary support into modernising the railways. In fact, if railways would spend all the money that is being available to us, we will probably see a much faster impact on various other sectors such as steel, cement and employment,” the finance minister said.

In a bid to boost growth, the government will divert its savings on the subsidy front towards irrigation and infrastructure sectors, Jaitley said.