By IANS,
New Delhi : The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Friday lowered India’s growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.1 percent, against its earlier prediction of 7.7 percent, on account of the impact of the global meltdown.
The council, headed by economist Suresh Tendulkar, also told a press conference here that it expected the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 7-7.5 percent during the next fiscal,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had himself lowered his growth forecast for fiscal 2008-09 to 6.5-7 percent, saying the period of hardship was not yet over for the Indian economy and that it would continue next year.
The council, which advises the prime minister on key economic policy matters, said it expected the annual rate of inflation to fall further to 4.1 percent by the end of February. The inflation rate presently rules at 5.6 percent.