Jaitley optimistic and predicts GDP to grow at 7.7% in 2018

The Dollar Business Bureau

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday that India’s economy is likely to grow at 7.7% in 2018. The emerging economies face new challenges like inward looking strategies of protectionism and enhanced geopolitical tension.

Global growth is going upwards and is likely to increase further in the financial year 2017-18, Jaitley said while speaking at the 2nd yearly meeting of New Development Bank (NDB) in New Delhi. 

“The Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.2% in 2017 and at the rate of 7.7% in 2018,” he said. 

The Finance Minister said, “Emerging market economies face newer challenges in the form of inward looking policies of protectionism of some economies, global financial condition, policies of the United States and increased geopolitical tension.”

Meeting India’s vast infrastructural needs is imperative and the government has asked for $2 billion in loans for several projects from the NDB, which has been established by the emerging countries or BRICS nations (Brazil Russia India, China and South Africa). “India has vast funding needs for financing infrastructure, which require $646 billion in coming five years (to finance the infrastructure).”

He also said the growth in developing and emerging nations is picking up pace and news from the economies of BRICS is ‘encouraging’. 

Jaitley said that he hoped the NDB will come out as a development bank and support the funding needs of emerging nations.