FMArun: GDP growth better this fiscal

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that GDP in the current fiscal will be better than the 7.3 per cent growth rate recorded in the last financial year. Talking to reporters in New Delhi yesterday, Mr Jaitley said manufacturing sector recorded a significant growth of 9.3 per cent in the September quarter despite an adverse global situation. He, however, expressed confidence that private sector investments would pick up faster in coming quarters.

Finance Minister was responding to the GDP growth rate which came in at 7.4 per cent for July-September, higher than 7 per cent in the April-June quarter. Mr Jaitley said the country has been facing a large number of domestic and global challenges, and slowly private investments have started to pick up. Finance Minister said foreign direct investment, particularly in greenfield projects, has grown and public investments too have gained traction. The data released by Central Statistics Office, CSO had showed that manufacturing sector grew 9.3 per cent in July-September as against 7.9 per cent in the year-ago period.