Jaitley says higher rainfall forecast could allow higher growth rate
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - India may grow at a faster pace this year if the latest predictions of higher rainfall in the country this year hold up, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday.
"I think India could better its current growth rate," Jaitley said in a speech on the nation's growth prospects at a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace event in Washington.
India is expected to grow 7.5 percent this year and next, according to the International Monetary Fund's latest estimates.
Latest forecasts predict above-average rainfall in India this year. A good monsoon season is important to farm output in India, the world's second-biggest producer of rice, wheat, sugar and cotton.
(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Andrea Ricci)