It would be quite good to know that India might continue to maintain growth rate of 7-7.5 per cent next fiscal, the same level it is expected to register in the current fiscal. The news comes when lower growth projection of 8 per cent in 2009 by our neighbor China was termed as a tall order.

Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath confirmed at the World Economic Forum, "We hope to continue at the same level of 7-7.5 next fiscal."

In the first half of this fiscal, Indian economy experienced a growth by 7.8% and it is being expected that there will a slowdown in the growth of rate despite stimulus packages, with industrial production falling for the first time in 15 years in October last year.

It has also been confirmed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at WEF that a target of 8 per cent economic growth for 2009 against 9 per cent in 2008 has been set up his government since big impact has been put on the country's real economy by the international financial crisis.

It would be worth mentioning here that Nath was referring to fiscal years, whereas Jiabao was talking in terms of calendar years, however there could be a broad comparison in the perspective of statements of both.