JOIN US Keeping hopes alive for an 8 per cent growth rate this fiscal, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya has said GDP figures will get revised and there will be a surprise in the fourth quarter.
“I originally said we will get to 8 per cent for 2015-16. It’s not ruled out entirely because at the end of the year, revisions do happen... So, there is still possibility that some of these rates might get revised,” Panagariya said, adding, “I still think we will get a surprise in the last quarter.”
In December, the government had lowered its growth forecast for 2015-16 to 7-7.5 per cent from the earlier 8.1-8.5 per cent in its Mid-Year Economic Analysis presented in Parliament during the last session.
Earlier this week, industrial production data showed the sharpest decline in over four years, which fell to (-)3.2 per cent in November after a 5-year high of 9.9 per cent in October.
There are fears in certain quarters that the Indian economy would not touch the 8 per cent growth mark, against the backdrop of low global demand and subdued farm output.