The latest official forecast from India has estimated that growth in that country could near 10% during the coming fiscal year, even as officials move to tighten monetary policy to contain high inflation, according to Bloomberg. On Friday, the Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee unveiled the annual Economic Survey for his country that said, “The economy is expected to revert to pre-crisis levels next year,” with a forecast for economic growth to reach as high as 9.25% in the next financial year. Mukherjee added, “Inflation is clearly the dominant concern.”
The government is due to unveil the budget for the year starting Apr. 1 on Feb. 28, and Jay Shankar of Religare Capital Markets said, “The signal is that growth is intact and the budget will focus on reducing the fiscal deficit and taming inflation.” The benchmark wholesale price inflation rate was seen at an average of 9.4% in the nine months to December, although officials forecast that January’s lower rate of 8.23% reflects a downward trend likely to be seen in the coming months. The government has forecast for growth as high as 8.6% in the year to the end of this March.