By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Cautioning against the use of word “recession” for Indian economy, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said India’s growth would moderate in this difficult year, but would still be second-fastest in the world at the rate of 7-8 per cent.
“A recession is defined as two successive quarters of contraction of GDP. I wish to emphasise that India is nowhere near a recession. In our view, we may expect a moderation in growth rate in the current year to a level between 7 and 8 per cent. India would still be the second-fastest growing large economy in the world,” Chidambaram said at the Economic Editors’ Conference here on Monday.
While Germany, Japan, the UK and the Netherlands were into recession, the US and France were expected to slip into this economic cycle shortly, he said, adding, “We must banish the thought of recession (for the Indian economy),” he said.
He also appealed to the media not to use the word recession while referring to the Indian economy.
Chidambaram said India would show high positive growth during the second quarter of this fiscal, data for which are slated to be released later this week.
Indian economy grew by 9 per cent in 2007-08 and by 7.9 per cent in the first quarter of this fiscal. He said the economy would rebound in the second half of 2009-10.
Reiterating that the industry should cut prices to deal with the slowdown, Chidambaram said, “We have already given Rs 31,000 crore as post-Budget duty concessions. I am open to examining cases where fiscal support or concessions are required for any sector.”