No change in '$5 trillion economy by 2025 target': CEA

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) There is no change in the 5 trillion dollar economy by 2025 timeline, Chief Economic Advisor K. Krishnamurthy said on Friday."No change in the deadline (for achieving the 5 trillion dollar economy)", he said at a press conference after the Economic Survey 2019-20 was presented earlier in Parliament.He was responding to a query on whether the deadline would be overstepped for achieving the 5 trillion dollar target given the slowdown. The CEA also said there is a slowdown in investment, demand and consumption as well. The Economic Survey has put current fiscal year 2019-20's growth rate at 5% (from the earlier projected 7%) while estimating economic growth at 6-6.5% in the fiscal year starting April 1 (2020-21). The survey projected 7% GDP growth for the current fiscal in the July Budget.Last year the Economic Survey called for bright prospects for economic growth making its theme on enabling a "shifting of gears", "to achieve the objective of becoming $ 5 trillion economy by 2024-25, as laid down by the Prime Minister". It had said for this India needs to sustain a real GDP growth rate of 8%. The survey says it departs from "traditional thinking by advocating a growth model for India that views the economy as being either in a virtuous or a vicious cycle, and thus never in equilibrium". The question mark on achieving the 5 trillion dollar economy with 5 per cent growth has put a question mark on its viability with continued slump in demand, consumption and growth. The government's first estimate of GDP for the fiscal has projected 5% GDP growth in Q2, the growth had slowed to a six-year low of 4.5%.
--IANS
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