Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has asserted that India's $2.5 trillion economy is now firmly on course to register a strong growth rate of over 8 percent. He indicated that the country has grown on an average of 7.5 percent in the first three years of the Modi government. Therefore, he expects that the country will grow at 7.2 to 7.5 percent in the second half of the current fiscal, ending March 31. Besides, he pointed out that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 6.3 percent in Q2 (July-September) of FY18 signalled turnaround of the economy.
Talking about manufacturing sector, the minister stated that it is back on good growth path and the services, mainstay of India's growth, have also resumed their high growth rates of 8 percent plus. Also, he expressed hopes that exports to grow at 15 percent in 2017-18. Adding further, he said that India has already become 7th largest economy of the world and is expected to become 5th largest economy very soon. On Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) basis, he noted that the country is already the third largest economy.
According to the estimates of Central Statistics Office (CSO), Indian economy is expected to grow at 6.5 percent in the current fiscal. As per the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament, the economy is likely to grow at 7-7.5 percent in 2018-19. GDP growth in first quarter of 2017-18 had moderated to 5.7 percent, the lowest in the three years, before recovering to 6.3 percent in the following three months.