By IANS,
New Delhi : For India to achieve equitable growth, farm output will have to expand at 4 percent yearly, said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee here Wednesday.
“Our agricultural growth should be at 4 percent so that there is a balanced growth,” Mukherjee said at the 104th annual session of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The finance minister, however, said the agriculture sector would end up growing at a slower pace due to the adverse effect of inadequate monsoons and drought earlier in the year.
“There has been a downtrend in agriculture growth because of unexpected flood and drought. It was 2.5 percent in the first quarter of this fiscal and one1 percent in the second quarter. I do not know what it is for the third quarter.”
When asked when the government planned to withdraw the stimulus package extended to trade and industry, Mukherjee said: “You will have to wait till the budget.”
The finance minister was also cautious in his response to the signs of a turnaround in the export sector.
“Exports in November have been encouraging, but at the same time, we cannot expect a robust turnaround unless there is a robust growth in the US, Europe and Japan, which is 60 percent of our export markets.”