GDP likely to grow 5.5 percent in 2015: Mid-year review

The country's economy is likely to grow at around 5.5 percent in the current fiscal, the finance ministry said in its mid-year review tabled in parliament Friday.

In the first six months of 2014-15, the economy grew at an annual 5.5 percent, the report said. Based on the trend of receipts and expenditure relative to the Budget, the finance ministry said the budget deficit target is in line with estimates. The report added that the government expected no change in interest rates till the fiscal year ends in March.

Presenting the report, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha that lower international crude prices will help keep down the current account deficit. Prices have plunged to a five-year low from over $100 a barrel in June to $58 now.

The Indian economy logged 5.3 percent growth in the second quarter of this fiscal, against 5.7 percent in the first quarter. Consumer price index-based inflation, meanwhile, eased to a record low of 4.38 percent during November -- from 11.16 percent during the  corresponding month last year -- on the back of lower food prices.

Industry's pitch for rate cuts and economic reforms has become sharper, with factory output slipping further to log a 4.2 percent drop in October even as retail inflation eased further to a historic low of 4.38 percent in November, official data showed earlier this month.

The economy expanded at 4.7 percent in the entire 2013-14 financial year, marking a second straight year of below 5 percent growth.