Indian economy to grow 6pc in 2003-'04: ADB
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday forecast the Indian economy to grow six per cent in the year to March 2004, describing New Delhi's target of eight per cent as "ambitious".
"We have forecast six per cent growth for 2003-2004 and 6.5 per cent growth for 2004-2005," an Asian Development Bank official told reporters in the Indian capital New Delhi.
Asked to comment on India's target of eight per cent growth in the next five years, Yoshiro Iwasaki, director general of the ADB's South Asia sector said that although the goal was not "impossible... it looks ambitious and quite challenging."
An ADB press statement quoted Iwasaki as saying that sustaining such a high growth rate would "depend critically on a successful effort at fiscal consolidation since the large fiscal deficit of about 10 per cent crowds out both public and private investment."
Last month, India's federal and state governments agreed to set an eight per cent economic growth target every year until 2007 on the recommendation of the country's top economic think-tank, the Planning Commission.
This was essential to achieve long-term social objectives such as reducing poverty and creating jobs, said K.C. Pant, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.
The commission, which sets targets for the economy every five years, said the country would also aim to bring down poverty from the existing 26 per cent to 21 per cent of the population by 2007.
The ADB also announced Wednesday it had recommended an eight billion dollar assistance package for India during the next four years.
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