Rediffmail Money rediffGURUS BusinessEmail

FM stresses on sustaining high growth

December 23, 2004 13:16 IST
Source:PTI
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said it was not sufficient to attain a high 8 per cent growth in one year but necessary to sustain it in the coming years.

Addressing the 70th annual general meeting of Indian Sugar Mills Association, he said the GDP has grown by 7.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2004-05 with electricity, mining, cement and capital goods showing a robust growth.

Non-food credit has more than doubled while there was positive growth in food credit, he said adding "all these point to robust growth in the economy."

"But one or two quarters (of high growth) do not reflect the growth of the entire year," he cautioned.

The Reserve Bank along with other independent economic research agencies has projected a lower GDP growth ranging between 6-6.5 per cent this fiscal compared to 8.2 per cent logged in 2003-04.

The lower growth projections come in the wake of deficient rains in many regions and a lower-than-expected farm output.

However, industry logged a whopping 10.1 per cent growth in October and its cumulative growth during the first seven months was 8.4 per cent, which raised hopes of a higher growth this fiscal.

"We have to sustain high growth. It is not sufficient to grow by over 8 per cent in one year but it is important to sustain it," he added.

One of the reasons why China overtook India in terms of economic growth was that the neighbour could sustain the high growth, which "We failed to do in the past few years", he said.

Source: PTI
© Copyright 2026 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

WEB STORIES

7 Of The Wealthiest Temples Of India

8 Gorgeous Cities Built On Canals

5 Revolutions That Overthrew Governments

VIDEOS

NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email