'Economy poised for growth'

BEIJING, NOV. 4. The Planning Commission member, Mr. N.K. Singh, has said the country will overcome the impact of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. and achieve 5.5-6 per cent growth this year.

``Despite the global economic slowdown, India's economy is poised to grow at an impressive rate of 5.5-6 per cent this year, which is only next to that of China,'' Mr. Singh, told PTI here.

``We believe that the revival of the agriculture sector, which is expected to register a five per cent rate of growth, with the combination of monetary and fiscal policies and continued measures for deregulation and economic reforms, the Indian economy, which has strong macro fundamentals, is well poised to achieve growth this year, and get on to a higher growth path next year,'' Mr. Singh said.

The economy was in a somewhat sluggish phase even before the September 11 terrorist strikes. The attack had further exasperated that sluggish phase, Mr. Singh, who is on a visit here, said.

``Consequences of the attack has had a global impact. It has adversely affected our economy in terms of exports and the services sector, especially tourism and tourism-related activities,'' he said.

``Fortunately, however, their impact on India has been more modest because trade as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is only 21 per cent in India and export as a percentage of GDP is only six to seven per cent,'' he said.

Citing that the Government has adjusted its monetary policy, the RBI has lowered interest rates, Mr. Singh said the Government had ``acted with speed'' to deal with the aftermath of the U.S. attack.

- PTI

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