Economic growth to pick up in Q4: Pranab

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said economic growth will pick up in the fourth quarter of the fiscal.

By PTI | Mar 03, 2010, 11.33 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said economic growth will pick up in the fourth quarter of the fiscal, even as it slipped to six per cent in the third quarter from around eight per cent in the preceding three- month period.

"I am confident that fourth quarter GDP will pick up," Mukherjee said at a CII function.

He added that the economic growth during the third quarter of this fiscal slowed down to 6 per cent from 7.9 per cent in the previous quarter because of negative growth in agriculture by over 2 per cent.

Mukherjee said the double-digit food inflation is a major concern and the Centre is taking steps along with the states to cool the surging food prices in the next few months.

Even as the government had announced partial rollback of stimulus measures, Mukherjee said the recovery is not completely broadbased and continues to be driven by government stimulus spending.

Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.