FM Sitharaman says India looking at near double-digit growth this year

India will witness close to double-digit economic growth this financial year (FY22), which would be the highest among the major economies of the world, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. The economy is expected to grow at 7.5-8.5 per cent — as projected by rating agencies — in the next financial year, and the growth would sustain at this range for the next decade, she said on Tuesday.

“I expect that (growth) to be sustained for the next decade, because the rate at which expansion in core industries is happening, the rate at which services are growing, I don’t see a reason for India (growth) to be any way less (in) the coming decade,” Sitharaman said at the Harvard Kennedy School.

The remarks come close on the heels of many institutions projecting 9.5 per cent growth for India in FY22, including the International Monetary Fund and the Reserve Bank of India. Fitch Ratings and the World Bank expect the economy to post sub-9 per cent growth, while the Asian Development Bank pegged it in double digits.