India will achieve 9 pc GDP in 18 months: FM

Panaji, July 25 (PTI) India's Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee Saturday said India would be back in the 9 per cent
growth trajectory in the next one and a half years as a result
of stimulus measures announced by the government.

"There are certain economic measures taken which will
start showing their results in the next one and a half years.
Over this period, we will be able to come back to the 9 per
cent GDP growth," Mukherjee told a gathering of industry
captains in India's western state of Goa.

The Finance Minister accompanied by Chief Minister
Digamber Kamat addressed two official functions in the state
Saturday that also included inauguration of India's unique
museum conceptualised and executed by the Customs and Central
Excise Department.

Mukherjee, during the interaction with Goa's top-most
industrialists, said that the government has injected
substantial money into the system that will start showing the
results in months to come.

Reminding of the two stimulus packages offered by the
Centre in December-January soon after the world leaders summit
and subsequent package after the interim Budget, Mukherjee
said that Rs 1,86,000 crore have been injected into the
economy.

"These methods have already started yielding results and
we have been able to arrest further deterioration of the
economic situation," the minister said.

He stated that the results are already visible on certain
sectors like manufacturing units whose growth is slow but
steady and fields like mobile telephones which are improving.

"Full picture will be clear only in September, this
year," Mukherjee added.

The Finance Minister said that the United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) government has invested money in the rural
economy and also stepped up investment in infrastructure so
that higher growth can be achieved.

Explaining how India's economy has faced fragile
situation in the past, Mukherjee said that from 1951 to 1971,
the country's growth rate was 3.5 per cent average which went
up to 5.2 per cent in 1980s. Early 90s saw 9.6 per cent growth
which was later affected due to world economic slowdown. PTI
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