World Bank projected Indian Economy to grow by 6.9 Per Cent in the Financial Year 2012-13

The World Bank in its report named Global Economic Prospects released on 12 June 2012, projected Indian economy to grow by 6.9% in the financial year 2012-13. The World Bank report predicted India’s growth increasing to 6.9 per cent, 7.2 per cent and 7.4 per cent in fiscal years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, respectively.

Blaming fragile monetary policy, long paused reforms, persistent inflation and widening fiscal deficit for the country’s poor growth in 2011, the multi-lateral agency advised India to take some corrective measures to improve the sinking growth. Indian economy grew by 6.5 per cent in 2011-12, the lowest in the past nine years. The economy had registered an impressive 8.4 per cent growth in the previous two years.

The Indian government had projected the economy to grow at 7.6 per cent in the fiscal year 2012-13, but given the prevailing economic and political situations in the country, the projected growth rate could be hard to achieve.

The World Bank report estimated the global economy to expand 2.5% in the fiscal year 2012-13. The multi-lateral agency also cautioned the developing nations of the bumpy ride ahead.

APJ Abdul Kalam as President for 2nd term?

New Delhi: Internationally recognized as the 'Missile Man' of India, former President APJ Abdul Kalam is back in news as speculation about the country’s future President intensifies with every passing day.

Kalam's name has started doing the rounds ever since Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh and Trinamool president Mamta Bannerjee jointly proposed his name for presidency along with other two candidates yesterday.

Adding a new twist to the race for Raisina, both Mulayam and Mamata also proposed the names of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee for the country’s top job.

The two leaders also virtually rejected the two Congress candidates, Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari for the presidency. Both leaders, while denying that the names were in any order of priority, made an appeal to all political parties to support one of them.

If political analysts are to be believed, Kalam is the preferred choice of the UPA allies, which is evident from the fact that both Mamata and Mulayam reportedly spoke to him before proposing his name.

The main opposition BJP has already made known its support for Kalam’s candidature for the next president.

For Congress, both Somnath and Kalam are red herrings, and the ruling party may not seriously considered the candidature of Ansari - who did not get the support of the SP, which had said it wanted a political nominee, preferably a Muslim.