Pointing at the sluggishness in the economy, the BJP on Thursday said it clearly indicates that its economic managers had failed to counter the problems posed by high economic growth.

BJP Vice-President and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha commenting on the Economic Survey on the eve of Budget tomorrow said ''the survey had indicated an economic slow down. High growth entails its own problems and has to be met with appropriate policies to sustain the growth levels and it was clear that the economic managers in the UPA government had not done it.''

The country had attained 8 per cent growth level breaking the vicious circle of high inflation, high interest rates and low interest rates and replaced it with low inflation, lower interest rates and an eight per cent growth level during the NDA regime but after four years of NDA regime, the country was back in the grip of the same vicious circle, he lamented.

When people were aspiring to touch double-digit growth, the country has slipped down from its high-speed growth rate, he remarked.

He said slowdown in the infrastructure growth and the decelleration in the manufacturing sector particularly in cement and steel, all indicate that the economy is receding.

He said the biggest challenge for Finance Minister P Chidambaram will be to check the inflation, which had broken the levels of tolerance and the people will not be able to accept any inflation beyond 3 per cent at the whole sale price index levels.

The finance minister has instructed the banks to reduce interest rates and they have revised downwards but such coercion will not make them sustain. The rise in the rupee value has its own adverse impact on the exports and the country was unable to absorb its foreign fund inflow for sustaining economic growth.

Sinha said the Survey had accepted that the agricultural sector had lost its dynamism and the situation demands deep reforms rather than mere statements. Irrigation benefits will have to be taken to the fields and the BJP favoured Centre providing cent per cent funding on major irrigation projects.

The Survey had posed serious challenges to the finance minister and he had limited corrective options to moderate the price rise, inflation and take the economy towards high growth again, he said.

Economic Survey 2007-08: Complete Coverage