India can achieve 8-9 per cent economic growth in years ahead: Asian Development Bank

Asian Development Bank (ADB) today said the fiscal consolidation roadmap announced by India will help in getting back to high economic growth rate of 8-9 per cent in the coming years.

"The government is, I think, taking quite appropriate fiscal consolidation efforts and measures. Indian economy is likely to recover in 2013 fiscal year," ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda told reporters.

Indian government, he said, has been taking appropriate measures to consolidate fiscal situation and steadily reduce the deficit.

"I understand that Indian government has been taking this appropriate policy stance, so that over the medium-term full potential of the Indian economy can be realised. I personally think that Indian economy can achieve 8 to 9 per cent growth annually in medium to long term," he added.

India has outlined a fiscal consolidation roadmap. It plans to restrict deficit for the current fiscal year at 5.3 per cent of GDP in the current year and bring it down to 3 per cent by 2013-14.

Mr Kuroda said while no strong signs of recovery have appeared yet, "we are reasonably sure that Indian economy would be recover."

Manila-based ADB will come out with its latest India growth projection in the first week of April.

The growth in the current fiscal is likely to slip to a decade-low of 5.7 per cent, but is expected to rebound in 2013-14. In fiscal year 2011-12, the economy grew by 6.2 per cent.

The 46th annual meeting of ADB is scheduled at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida from May 2 to 5. This will be ADB's third annual meeting in India.

Earlier in the day, Mr Kuroda called on Finance Minister P Chidambaram to discuss the upcoming annual meeting of ADB.

"I expressed my thanks to him for the government agreeing to host the 2013 annual meeting and for all its preparatory work," he said.

The annual meet is expected to be attended by over 4,000 participants from member governments, academia, international organisations, private sectors and civil society among others.

The ADB president said the annual meet at Greater Noida is likely to be one of the biggest ever. Theme of this annual meeting is 'Development through Empowerment'. This is an issue close to the heart of both ADB and the Indian government, said Mr Kuroda.