Economy to grow by 7.5 pc this fiscal, over 8.5 in next: FM

New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI) India's economy is poised to grow
by 7.5 per cent this fiscal and will top 8.5 per cent in the
next on the back of a strong industrial recovery, Finance
Minister of India Pranab Mukherjee said.
The Industrial Production figures suggest the economy
will grow by 7.5 per cent this fiscal and perhaps over 8.5 per
cent in the next fiscal, Mukherjee told reporters here.
The Index of Industrial Production, or the measure of the
country's factory output, surged to a 16-year-high of 16.8 per
cent in December, led by a robust performance by
manufacturing, particularly consumer durables, indicating that
demand was picking up across sectors.
Analysts say the industry is set for a good showing in
January as well. Research services provider Dun &Bradstreet
expects industrial production to have grown by 13.5-14.5 per
cent for the month.
D&B revised upwards its growth forecast for the third
quarter to 7.3 per cent yesterday after taking into account
the stunning performance by the industry.
"We have revised our GDP forecast for Q3 to 7.3 per cent,
from the earlier 6.8 per cent, given the buoyancy witnessed in
industrial activity in this quarter," D&B said in a release
here on Wednesday. PTI IND
AHM