Pranab remains upbeat on growth, but with fingers crossed

The economy is expected to maintain a growth rate of 6.7 per cent during 2009-2010, the same as the last fiscal, as some signs of pick-up are visible.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha yesterday, "We have ended 2008-09 at 6.7 per cent. I do hope that we will be able to maintain this level of growth in 2009-10," he told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.

The finance minister said the early signs of improvement in the Indian economy are seen despite there being no big recovery visible in the global economy. Trillions of dollars might have been injected in Europe and North America, "but there is no immediate restoration of the (global) economy'', he added.

Mukherjee also reiterated that the government will only sell small stakes in state-run companies while retaining majority control.

''The government would offer small portions of its shareholding to the general public in the domestic market through initial public offerings or follow-on public offerings,'' Mukherjee said ''The policy of the government is to develop people's ownership of public sector undertakings while ensuring that the government equity doesn't fall below 51 per cent,'' Mukherjee said.

In a separate statement, minister of state for finance S S Palanimanickam told the house that the share sales of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd, the nation's largest hydroelectric power generator, and Oil India Ltd are likely to be completed in the current fiscal year. ''All cases of disinvestment are decided on a case-by- case basis,'' he said.