Indian economy estimated to grow at 7.6%; low fuel prices, reforms key growth drivers: FM

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Indian economy is estimated to register 7.6% growth in 2015-16, despite contraction of global exports and two years of shortfall in monsoon, said the Finance Minister Aruin Jaitely on Friday.

While addressing the group of nine World Bank Executive Directors in New Delhi, the Finance Minister added that good monsoon forecast, the ongoing reform process, and continuing low oil prices are key drivers of economic growth in the country.

The Ambit Capital report, earlier in May, had countered the central statistics office's data that India is expected to witness 7.6 percent GDP growth in 2016. It said in a report that "corporate results as well as the range of alternative tools we have developed to track the health of the real economy, however, suggest that the Indian economy has been losing momentum since mid-FY15".

It said that acceleration in GDP growth to 7.6 percent in FY16 from 7.2 percent in 2014-15 was ""dodgy", as 9 of 14 real economy indicators (supplied by industrial bodies/regulators as against the government) decelerated in fiscal 2015-16.

In February, the central statistics office had projected GDP growth to be 7.6% for FY16, the provisional data for which is due on May 31.