On October 26, 2004, we set out in the Mid-Term Review of Annual Policy Statement for the year 2004-05 that the overall GDP growth for the year 2004-05 would be in the range of 6.0 to 6.5 percent.
Subsequent developments indicate that while monsoon conditions and sharper rise in oil prices had a moderating effect on growth, the manufacturing sector and exports have been performing better than expected. With the economy growing at 7.4 percent in the first quarter and 6.6 percent in the second, the GDP growth in the first half of the year works out to be about 7.0 percent.