New Delhi, Nov 8 - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday predicted India's economic growth for the current fiscal at 6.5 percent and said it can accelerate to 7 percent next year if monsoon were normal.

"I am happy to say that India has been able to face the global economic downturn better than most other countries in the world," the prime minister told the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF) here.

"In the current financial year, we faced the adverse impact of an inadequate monsoon and the resultant slow down in agriculture. Nevertheless growth is expected to be around 6.5 percent," the prime minister said.

"There are clearly signs of an upturn in the economy. With a normal monsoon next year, we hope to achieve a growth rate of over 7 percent."

The prime minister also told the high-profile audience of chief executives, key policy-makers and representatives of civil society from across the world that India's growth had accelerated from 5.6 percent in the 1980s to 9 percent in the five-year period preceding the global financial crisis.

"Our strategy today is not just to deliver rapid growth, but to deliver rapid and inclusive growth, a growth that will provide productive employment to our young population and raise living standards in rural areas across the country."