Have to take growth to 9-10% level: Uday Kotak

Kotak Mahindra Bank vice chairman and MD Uday Kotak

Kotak Mahindra Bank vice chairman and MD Uday Kotak on Monday said the economy needs to grow 9-10 per cent to make the country a $5 trillion economy in the next couple of years.

“The economy needs to grow by 9 per cent in the next 20 years to get India where China is today. We need to grow by 10 per cent in the next couple of years,” Kotak said while delivering the Lalit Doshi Memorial Lecture. When asked whether India will be able to become a $5 trillion economy as projected by the government in the wake of the ongoing slowdown in the economy, Kotak said, “We got to make it happen. We have to take the growth to the 9-10 per cent level.”

GDP growth fell to 5.8 per cent in the March quarter and growth of eight core industries dropped to a 50-month low of 0.2 per cent in June as against 4.3 per cent in May. Last week, L&T Chairman Naik had said,”Growth is going to be not more than 6.5 per cent this year. My feeling is that though they (government) claim it is 7 per cent plus, if we can maintain 6.5 per cent, we will be lucky.”

On the current liquidity issue in the financial sector, Kotak said, “it’s not a systemic issue.”