NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya has expressed hope that Indian economy can still grow 8% this fiscal year. He further said “I remain optimistic that first quarter GDP numbers will be revised and by the time we reach the fourth quarter economy will touch 8%”. However, he cautioned that the government should take action on the rural economy.
Panagariya comments on the national accounts have come after the Finance Ministry in a statement said the economy will grow in the vicinity of 7.5 percent, though the government had earlier projected a growth rate of 8.1-8.5 percent for the current fiscal.
According the Central Statistics Office data released, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth picking-up from 7.0 per cent in Q1 of 2015-16 grew by 7.4 percent in the second quarter (July-September) of 2015-16, majorly contributed by gross fixed capital formation, which added up to 29.9% of the total growth, rising by 6.8% from a year ago.