Economy will get back to high growth path in three years: FM

Attributing the decline in growth to global factors, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today exuded confidence that the economy will get gradually get back to high growth path in the next three years.

"It is true that there has been a slowdown in 2012-13 and in current year. The slowdown reflects the world wide trend. As global economy recovers and as new measures take effect, I am confident that Indian economy will also get back step by step to the high growth path in three years", he said while delivering the valedictory address at Petrotech 2014.

India's economic growth slipped to decade low of 5 per cent in 2012-13 and in the current fiscal it estimated to be around the same level. It grew by over nine per cent before it was hit by the global crisis of 2008.

Chidambaram expressed hope that the revised growth estimates for 2012-13 were likely to be better than the earlier projections.

The government is scheduled to come out with revised growth estimates for 2012-13 on January 31 and the advance estimates for the current fiscal on February 7.

Referring to the Current Account Deficit (CAD), the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange, Chidambaram said it would be contained at USD 50 billion in the current fiscal.

The CAD soared to the all-time high of USD 88.2 billion or 4.8 per cent of the GDP in 2012-13. The government had taken several measures, including curbs on gold imports, to contain the CAD.

As regards the oil import bill, the Finance Minister said of the total imports of USD 491 billion in 2012-13, oil imports accounted for USD 164 billion.

"A developing country like India can not afford such a huge import bill or such a high level of CAD. Therefore, we were constrained to take some hard measures, including conservation measures and these measures have helped us contain the CAD," he added.