Indian economy has potential to grow at 8%: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

New Delhi: Indian economy, which expanded at 7.7 percent between 2003 and 2014 has the potential to clock 8 percent growth in the near future, Planning Commission's former deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said Thursday.

He also said that for India to grow at 7.7-8 percent, implementation of reforms like Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Bankruptcy law are necessary.

"I would say post-1991 reform, from 2003-14, India grew at 7.7 percent. That, I can guarantee, would not have happened if the 1991 reform had not been done.

"I think Indian economy has that potential to grow at 7.7 percent if world economy in bad shape, if world economy does well then it has potential to grow at 8 percent," Ahluwalia said while addressing students of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC).

Indian economy grew at 7.3 percent last fiscal and the mid-year economic analysis has forecast a GDP growth of 7-7.5 percent in 2015-16.

Ahluwalia also noted that although the launch of 1991 economic reforms was a watershed moment, they had actually begun in mid-1980s.

Regretting that reforms in taxation have been slower, the former director of IMF said that "in the last 25 years what we achieved we should have achieved in 10 years".