Appearing to fault the CSO's methodology, Chidambaram

said the estimate of 5 per cent growth by CSO is rather based on 'dated data'. "In the second half (of current fiscal) there are indications of green shoots in the economy", he added. The CSO has extrapolated data for April-November into the year, he said, adding, "while that would be normally correct when the trend line continues in the same direction, when the trend line changes, extrapolation is not the method that the institution should follow to project the future. "We believe that the upturn has begun, it is a very low curve, it's not V-shaped upturn. It's perhaps a very long and shallow U but we believe that the upturn has started and we believe that in the second half of this fiscal there are indications of green shoots in the economy," he added. CSO's advance growth estimate of 5 per cent earlier in the week for the current fiscal has evoked sharp reaction from Finance Ministry which said that it has based the projection on data available till November, and ignored the signs of uptrend. The Minister said that government will be taking steps in the "remaining weeks of this month of this fiscal year and measures that we will take going into the next fiscal year will be measures that will put India back to 8 per cent growth path." India, he added, was still the fastest growing economy in the world after China, Philippines and Indonesia. MORE