Slow Reforms Progress To Pull Down India Economic Growth To 5.8pc In 2013: ADB

New Delhi, July 17, IRNA - Slow progress of economic reforms is expected to pull down Indiaˈs growth to 5.8 per cent in 2013 from 6 per cent projected earlier, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report said Tuesday. ˈIn India...slow progress in pushing through the reforms needed to ease business bottlenecks means growth is likely to be 5.8 per cent this year, slower than the previously forecast 6.0 per cent,ˈ pti reported quoting the report ˈAsian Development Outlook Supplementˈ. Meanwhile, Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Jaipur said Tuesday that India was likely to clock over 6 per cent growth in the financial year 2013-14, in the backdrop of government taking host of steps to boost sagging economy. Indiaˈs growth fell to a decadeˈs low of 5 per cent in fiscal 2012-13. ADB in April had projected a growth rate of 6 per cent for India in 2013. It further said the projected growth at 5.8 per cent in 2013 will be ˈhigher than the 5.0 per cent posted in 2012, growth remains constrained by supply-side bottlenecks, as reflected in the continued slowdown in fixed capital formation, weakness in the industrial sector, and sluggish progress in pushing through badly needed structural reforms.ˈ The growth rate, it added, is expected to accelerate in 2014 as slower inflation provides some scope for monetary easing that could boost investment and consumption. ˈGrowth will be further boosted by pre-election spending, and the pickup in US growth will support Indian tech companies and related service sectorsˈ, ADB said, adding, the US was likely to grow at 2 percent in 2013 and 2.6 per cent in 2014. Elsewhere in South Asia, it said, Sri Lanka will continue to grow strongly, while other parts of the region will see softer-than-anticipated growth. South Asia, it said, is expected to grow by 5.6 per cent in 2013 and 6.2 per cent in the following year. As regards China, ADB said, the country was likely to see 7.7 per cent growth this year and 7.5 per cent in 2014 after growth of 7.8 per cent in 2012./end