Growth rate of 8 per cent for India an imaginable goal: Larry Summers
Larry Summers said on Saturday. Summers co-chairs the Independent Expert Group on strengthening MDB reforms.
He said a combination of factors, including promoting free market forces, addressing infrastructure needs- particularly in energy -and undertaking reforms in key states, could catapult India into the high-growth trajectory.
The state of the global economy, too, would be an important factor in shaping India's growth story, he added.
India's economic growth will likely touch 6.5% in FY24, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) forecast, against 7.2% a year earlier. It aims to be a developed nation by 2047.
Summers was in the national capital to deliver a lecture on The World is on Fire, organised by industry body CII and the Department of Economic Affairs.
He also stressed the existence of a number of barriers that impinge on India's growth, which include issues between the Union and state governments. AI could help drive up India's growth, he said, as it's an area in which the country sees a possibility to shine.
Summers exuded confidence that «higher for longer» interest rate regime across key economies is unlikely to be a major barrier to world growth.
Earlier this week, the US Federal Reserve decided to keep the fed funds rate in a targeted range of 5.25-5.5%, the highest in about 22 years.
Summers said he didn't forecast the 8% growth on the basis of the current policies but «given India's potential, even in a more challenging world economy, I believe that it is an imaginable goal,» he said. «I think it is something to target as India defines its greatness in this next century.»
He voiced concerns over growing protectionism across the globe, suggesting that it doesn't really help make an economy
