7% GDP growth not enough: FM Jaitley

Singapore: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said 7 percent growth rate recorded in the first quarter of current fiscal "is not just enough", though many thought it was a fair growth rate.

"When our first quarter results were declared, in the midst of a global slowdown, many thought that 7 percent was a fair growth rate. But I must confess that it didn't bring too many smiles on our faces, because India has actually started feeling that 7 percent is just not enough for us," he said while addressing investors here.

The GDP growth slowed to 7 percent in the April-June quarter, from 7.5 percent in the previous quarter, amid deceleration in farm, services and manufacturing sectors, as per CSO data released last month.

The government expects a growth rate of 8-8.5 percent for full 2015-16 fiscal.

He said the government is boosting public investment in infrastructure sector to fuel growth and said the investment in railways would help push growth in other sectors, including steel.

"We have put in a lot of budgetary support into modernising the railways. In fact, if railways would spend all the money that is being available to us, we will probably be able to see a much faster impact on various other sectors such as steel, cement, employment, and so on," the finance minister said.

In a bid to boost growth, the government will divert its savings on the subsidy front towards irrigation and infrastructure sectors, Jaitley said.