India needs to grow at 7-8 pct a year - junior finance minister

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has no choice but to grow at a higher rate of 7-8 percent a year, the country's junior Finance Minister Jayant Sinha told reporters on Tuesday.

Sinha said faster growth is required to create more jobs that the country needs, and to strengthen the rupee.

India's economic growth probably slowed to around 5 percent in the three months to September, slipping from 5.7 percent in the previous quarter, two senior finance ministry sources said earlier, putting pressure on the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Writing by Malini Menon; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)