Economy can grow by 5.8 per cent this fiscal: Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram

BANGALORE: With industry production showing signs of buoyancy, the economy is likely to grow by 5.7 - 5.8 per cent in this fiscal but , Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram said today, while stating that achieving 4.1 per cent fiscal deficit target is a "daunting task".

"Two things we must remember. One, markets are always skeptical about deficit figures ... however, I think the Finance Minister has made it clear, even though it is a daunting task, it will be endeavour of the government to achieve the target. I don't think there should be any doubt on that," Mayaram told reporters here.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference here, he said, "secondly the economy is already looking up, if you look at the recent numbers whether it is IIP numbers or PMI numbers you will see there is uptake in the economy."

"So with that buoyancy in the growth which we now anticipate and generally everybody believes it is going to be achieved, it is going to be close to 5.7, 5.8 per cent if not more, then I do not see why we should not have such buoyancy on this," he added.

Responding to a question on P J Nayak committee report on corporate governance in public sector banks, Mayaram said "I think the budget announcement made by the Finance Minister is very clear on this; one the banks will be recapitalised ...., the NPAs (Non-performing asset) will be taken care of in the sense there will be systemic improvement in ensuring that the percentage of NPAs goes down, and governance will also be improved."

"On all those account, the government is serious and is moving in the right direction," he added.