|
Mumbai, Sept. 24: Global rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) today lowered its growth forecast for India by one percentage point to 5.5 per cent. S&P cited deficient rainfall, the current crisis in the Eurozone and weak recovery in the US as the major reasons for cutting the GDP forecast.
“The lack of monsoon rains has affected India, for which agriculture still forms a substantial part of the economy. Additionally, the more cautious investor sentiment globally has seen potential investors become more critical of India’s policy and infrastructure shortcomings,” it said.
PMEAC disagrees
Brushing aside S&P’s forecast, the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council today said growth was expected to pick up in the second half of this fiscal and reach 6.7 per cent for the whole of 2012-13.
“I think it is a wrong assessment. I do not know the basis for the growth rate estimated by the rating agencies,” PMEAC chairman C. Rangarajan said.
|
