Montek hopes economy will grow over 8 pc in FY'11

"I hope that we are well positioned for next year that is fiscal year 2010-11 to have a GDP growth of over 8 per cent," Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters.

"We thought it (industrial growth in December) might be 13 per cent. It is now just under 17 per cent, so the performance is very much in the direction that we expected of a good revival," he said.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 16.8 per cent during December, against 0.2 per cent contraction during the corresponding month a year ago.

When asked whether the trend of high industrial growth would continue, Ahluwalia replied, "When you transit from a period of flat or very low output to recovery then for some months the growth rates are very high and then they stabilise again to a normal level."
He added that, "I do not expect 17 per cent growth in industry to continue month after month that is for sure. So, my hope is that next year we will show double-digit growth in industry".