Industry expects economy to grow at healthier pace

As economic growth slowed to 7.1 percent in the first quarter, India Inc said it expects economy to grow at a healthier pace in coming quarters on the back of a good monsoon even as a pick-up in investments remains elusive.

"We expect growth to gain momentum in the second half of the current fiscal year. The good monsoon is a huge positive and an improvement has been noted in the kharif acreage," Ficci President Harshvardhan Neotia said.

He said the agriculture sector performance is likely to pick up, giving an impetus to rural consumption. Also, the Seventh Pay Commission is expected to push demand and the uptick is likely to give a thrust to industrial growth as well.

According to Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat, while a durable pick-up in investment activity remains elusive, consumption will continue to provide the main support to aggregate demand and Indian economy may grow at a healthier pace in coming quarters.