‘8-9% GDP Growth Is Key To Achieving $5-Trillion Economy'

Budget must address stress in financial system, says former RBI Governor Rangarajan

India cannot achieve its aspirational goal of becoming a $5-trillion economy by 2024-25 unless it sustains a growth rate of about 9 per cent per annum, according to C Rangarajan, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

In his keynote address at BusinessLine’s Budget Count Down event, Rangarajan said: “$5 trillion is a good aspirational goal. But please understand that a $5-trillion economy in a matter of 5 to 6 years cannot be achieved unless the economy grows in a sustained way between 8 and 9 per cent.

“It has to be closer to 9 per cent because today the Indian economy is $2.7 trillion. So, $5 trillion means almost doubling the size of the economy. And that is possible only if the economy grows at 9 per cent per annum in a sustained way for 5 to 6 years.”