India will clock over 7.5% growth in 2017-18: Ashok Lavasa

Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa said in New York that India can clock a GDP growth of over 7(point)5 per cent in the fiscal 2017-18 and the country's macro-economic fundamentals, including fiscal deficit and inflation, are all very sound. 

Lavasa, who is visiting the US to attend a global investors conference, said that while there has been a general climate of economic slowdown in the last few years across the world, India has managed to maintain a healthy rate of growth.

Going by the potential for additional consumption in India, driven by changing lifestyles and



growing urbanisation, there are several positives in the Indian economy and the country will not only continue to grow at a healthy rate but it will continue to be a very attractive destination for many investors, he said.

Lavasa said that predictions over demonetisation having an immense adverse effect on the country's economic growth turned out to be untrue.He, however, noted that certain sectors of the economy which largely depended on cash and some informal sectors did have a temporary setback when the highest denomination currencies of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 ceased to be legal tender.