India poised to grow 6.5-7 pc in 2009

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NEW DELHI, Mar 30 (PTI): Driven by demand returning to the automobile, steel and other sectors, India looks poised to grow by 6.5-7 per cent in 2009, beating the gloomy 5.1 per cent forecast by the International Monetary Fund.
According to IMF data, India's economy expanded by 7.3 per cent in 2008, pulled down by a 5.3 per cent growth rate in the last quarter of the year as agriculture and manufacturing output turned negative.
However, a number of sectors like cement, steel, capital goods and auto are showing signs of recovery.
Asked about his projections for India's economic growth in 2009 vis-a-vis the numbers projected by IMF, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar said, "It is difficult to specify, but we hope to grow between 6.5-7 per cent."
In its World Economic Outlook in January, IMF had scaled down India's economic growth projections to 5.1 per cent for 2009 from 6.3 per cent forecast earlier.
The outlook said emerging and developing economies will also suffer serious setbacks, though they are more resilient than in previous global downturns.