Counting on the general elections to spur the sagging economy, the prime minister's economic advisory panel has said it expects the country to grow at 6.5 to over 7 per cent in 2009-10.
"I expect the economy to grow by 6.5 per cent to 7 plus per cent in the current fiscal year," the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council chairman, Suresh Tendulkar, told PTI.
Earlier the council's outlook was 7-7.5 per cent for the year.
Even the revised forecast is yet quite optimistic compared to other agencies.
"The election expenditure will act as a big stimulus by resulting in additional purchasing power," he said, adding that the lower interest rate regime has already kicked in, which will help growth.
A equally optimistic projection has come from the chief economic adviser to the finance ministry Arvind Virmani, who expects the country's economy to grow 6.5-7.5 per cent.
Others who gave high forecasts include economic think-tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (6.5 per cent) and credit rating agency ICRA (6.5-7.5 per cent).