The Indian economy’s spectacular growth story continues with the government’s advance estimates of national income released today showing that the economy during 2006-07 would grow at a 9.2 per cent as against last year’s 9 per cent. With these official estimates, this would mean that India would be growing at 9 per cent or above in two consecutive financial years.The current fiscal’s growth rate has been made possible on account of a 11.3 per cent growth in manufacturing during 2006-07. In the advance estimates for 2005-06, the same sector recorded a growth 9.1 per cent. According to chief economic adviser Ashok Lahiri, this fiscal’s growth of 9.2 per cent is “particularly gratifying because it is upon a base year growth of 9 per cent”. Agriculture growth, which is expected to record a growth of 2.7 per cent during 2006-07 is, however, lower than the 6 per cent growth shown during 2005-06. According to finance ministry, “although this is lower than the desired growth of 4 per cent, it may be noted that in the base year (2005-06) the growth rate was at a high of 6 per cent.”While the construction sector (at 9.4 per cent) is expected to record a lower growth this fiscal as compared to the previous year’s 14.2 per cent, finance ministry says that in the three years of the UPA government, growth rate in manufacturing has accelerated from 8.7 per cent to 9.1 per cent and further to 11.3 per cent. This is one of the major factors for propelling the economy’s growth rates.Even the services sector, which is expected to record a 11.2 per cent growth in 2006-07, during the first three years, the growth was 9.6 per cent, 9.8 per cent and 11.2 per cent respectively. According to finance ministry, the point to be noted is that within the services sector “double digit growth rates have been recorded by trade, hotels, transport and communication as well in financing, insurance, real estate and business services sectors.”
