India's long-term story intact, needs 8 percent growth rate for development, says SBI chairman CS Setty

India’s latest growth rate of 6.2 percent is not a cause of concern, SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said in an interview. Talking to The Indian Express, Setty said that while there is nothing to be worried about as far as the current growth rate is concerned, the real progress will come when the country sees an acceleration in the GDP to 8 percent.

India will need 8 percent GDP for progress, the boss of country’s biggest bank, told the Indian Express in an interview on Monday. Talking about the capital expenditure, Setty stressed on the private sector and added that core sectors such as cement and steel should start investing more. Looking at the current data, Setty said that cement and steel have attained the capacity utilisation of around 786 percent.

On the worries around slowing down of the growth momentum, Setty remarked that “it could be a blip.” The SBI Chairman opined that the long-term status of India story remains ‘intact.’ On the real comsumption trend, Setty said that the actual picture may emerge after the rabi harvest is completed.

The remarks by the SBI chairman comes days after the government released the GDP data for the December data. As per the official numbers, India’s GDP grew 6.2 percent, reversing the slowdown witnessed in the last two quarters.