IMF's growth forecast unacceptable: India

Admitting that the economy may be impacted if the monsoon is inadequate, the government on Monday said the growth rate in 2009 will not fall to the levels being projected by international agencies like the IMF and the World Bank.

"There will be some impact on agriculture (if monsoon is not normal), some impact on GDP," Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla told PTI in an interview.

However, he did not subscribe to the projections of the Indian growth rate by international agencies like the IMF and the World Bank.

The IMF and the World Bank have projected the Indian economy to grow by 5.4 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively, for the current calendar year, while projections by organisations in the country pegged the rate to be anywhere between six and eight per cent for the current fiscal.

"Maybe international agencies' mood is depressed because of the international scenario, their numbers have been lower...We don't accept or subscribe to their numbers," Chawla said.

He said these agencies have been frequently raising their projections as well. In its latest update, the IMF had raised India's growth projection to 5.4 per cent for 2009 against 4.5 per cent estimated earlier.