President still pins hope on India's long-term growth

Amid the economic slowdown, President Pranab Mukherjee said on the long-term prospects of the country are bright and the current woes would be successfully overcome.

"Yes, there are predicaments and hurdles but I am sure we will tide over them. . .Our long term growth prospects are quite right. . .," he said, while addressing the 11th convocation of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies.

Mukherjee, who himself was Finance Minister, said he was ‘not disappointed’ by the current economic situation in the country.

He said that India had achieved a 7.9 growth rate despite major international financial problems and the Eurozone crisis.

India's economic growth rate in 2012-13 slipped to a decade's low of 5 per cent from 6.2 per cent a year ago and the prospects for the current fiscal do not seem very promising.

The Reserve Bank of India has recently lowered the growth projection for the current fiscal to 5.5 per cent from 5.7 per cent earlier.

The country has also been reeling under the impact of a high current account deficit which rose to a historic level of 4.8 per cent of the gross domestic product in 2012-13.

Besides, the rupee plunged to all-time low of 65.56 to a dollar last week and was trading around 64 in Monday’s trade.

Image: Pranab Mukherjee