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<html> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://www.chinadaily.com.cn:80/english/doc/2004-06/30/content_344346.htm","20090611095603","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1244714163"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <title> India's economy grows 8.2% in 2003-2004 </title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=gb2312"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20090611095603cs_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/style.css" type="text/css"> <script language="JavaScript">  </script> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" onload="isReady=true"> <script language="JavaScript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090611095603js_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/js/newsheader.js"></script> <script language="JavaScript" src="/web/20090611095603js_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/js/print.js"></script> <table width="760" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tr> <td width="6" bgcolor="EBCE78"><img src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/dot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="10"> </td> <td height="20" class="v7"> <b id="Position"> Home<font class="">></font><a class="" href="/web/20090611095603/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/home/news.html">News Center</a><font class="">></font><a class="" href="/web/20090611095603/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/home/world.html">World</a> </b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="6" bgcolor="EBCE78"><img src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/dot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="EBCE78"><img src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/dot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="6" bgcolor="EBCE78"><img src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/dot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="EFECE7" height="3"><img src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/dot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table width="760" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tr> <td width="6" bgcolor="EBCE78"><img src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/dot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="6" bgcolor="EFECE7"><img src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/dot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="10"> </td> <td width="419"> </td> <td width="10"> </td> <td width="170" bgcolor="EFECE7"> </td> <td width="1" bgcolor="EBCE78"><img src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/dot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> <td bgcolor="EFECE7" width="3"><img src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/dot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="135"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="6" bgcolor="EBCE78"><img src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/dot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="6" bgcolor="EFECE7"><img src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/image/dot.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="10"> </td> <td valign="top" class="v_small" id="Content"> <p><b><span class="v_medium">India's economy grows 8.2% in 2003-2004</span><br> </b><font color="#990000"><b class="v7"><font color="#993300"> (Agencies)<br> Updated: 2004-06-30 21:50</font></b></font></p> <p> <p>India's economy expanded a sharp 8.2 per cent in the year to March 2004, beating government forecasts as the country recovered from the impact of a severe drought to join the ranks of the world's fastest growing economies. <p> <p>The achievement was possible due to one of the most bountiful monsoons in years in India, where two-thirds of the billion-plus population work in agriculture. <p> <p> <table style="WIDTH: 164px; HEIGHT: 262px" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="3" width="164" align="left" border="0"> <tr> <td valign="center" align="left" bgcolor="#ffffff"><img alt="" hspace="0" src="/web/20090611095603im_/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-06/30/xin_20060130205108203061.jpg" align="baseline" border="0"><br><font color="#0000ff" size="2">A merchant is ready to sell his sugar cane in Madras. A strong agricultural sector helped the Indian economy clock 8.2 per cent growth in the fiscal year ending in March. [AFP]</font></td></tr></table>The figures released Wednesday also showed strong performances in the manufacturing, electricity and communication sectors. <p> <p>Growth in 2002-2003 had been hampered by a withering drought which had reduced farm output. The state-run meteorological department on Tuesday forecast another healthy monsoon, in welcome news for the economy. <p> <p>The government had forecast in February that annual growth would range between seven and eight per cent, a key factor leading the Hindu nationalist government to call elections five months ahead of schedule. <p> <p>But the government lost the polls in an upset to a left-leaning coalition that accused the administration of being out of touch with ordinary Indians left out of the boom. <p> <p>The surging growth in 2003-2004 rivals the strong gross domestic product figures of the mid-1990s after India opened up sectors of its inward-looking economy to foreign and private investors. <p> <p>Economists said they expected strong growth to continue in the next couple of years, although possibly at slightly lower levels, provided the new government's policies were sound. <p> <p>"It will be too much to expect the agricultural sector will be able to repeat its feat this year," said T.K. Bhaumik, senior economist at the Confederation of Indian Industry. <p> <p>"Buoyant industrial growth is expected to help sustain the momentum, which is happening because of a pick up in consumption. I expect the growth to be between 7.0 to 7.5 per cent this year," he said. <p> <p>The new government is led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an Oxford-trained economist who designed the historic liberalisation drive that began in 1991, but relies on support of communists sceptical of privatisation. <p> <p>Singh has pledged a major investment in agriculture in his government's first budget due to be released July 8. <p> <p>Bhaumik said the extra expenditure to support farmers and employment schemes could be offset by parallel policies to bring more people into the tax net. <p> <p>"The good thing is this year's good growth will give ample elbow room to the government," Bhaumik said. <p> <p>The previous government of prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was popular with investors late in its term by pushing forward economic reforms including privatisation. <p> <p>The new administration has worried investors who fear it will sacrifice reforms for more populist measures geared towards the rural poor. <p> <p>The Bombay Stock Exchange has sunk since the election and Wednesday dropped 0.95 per cent or 45.92 points to 4,795.46 on selling pressure despite the strong growth data. <p> <p> <p>Singh's government has ruled out privatisation of profit-making state-run firms and is bringing down the foreign investment allowed in India's largest airports in Bombay and New Delhi. <p>Saumitra Chaudhari, chief economist at credit rating agency ICRA, said the government will have to be careful not to increase the fiscal deficit -- the gap between expenditure and receipts -- with its economic agenda. <p>"It should be tackled without resorting to high taxes," he said. 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