Bolstered by 'hopeful signs' in certain sectors, the government said on Friday India will beat the International Monetary Fund projection of 5.1 per cent growth in 2009.

"Overall we are beginning to see some hopeful signs. . . in a number of sectors we have seen some changes... cement, steel, capital goods... I don't think 5.1 per cent is what we are going to achieve," Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar said at the CII Annual session in New Delhi.

However, he said banks, particularly those in the private sector, have not cut interest rates as much as they were expected to, following the easing of monetary policy by the Reserve Bank of India.

"There has been certain stickiness of interest rates banks have not shown response as we would have liked particularly private sector banks," Chandrasekhar said.