World Bank predicts Indian economy could grow by 8-9 pc in two years

New Delhi, Dec. 4 (ANI): India could return to a higher growth trajectory of 8-9 percent in two years, but it needs to invest more in infrastructure for sustaining such growth, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said on Friday.

Zoellick said that India handled the recent economic crisis very well.

"India is now a rising economic power that handled the recent economic crisis very well. It's contributing to world economic stability and could become the pole of global economic growth over the time. It has become global partner for the world bank group," Zoellick told reporters.

Asia's third largest economy expanded 6.7 percent in the fiscal year that ended in March 2009, slower than 9 percent or more in the previous three years.

Government officials forecast growth between 6.5 and 7 percent for 2009/10.

Zoellick expressed concern about food prices not coming down in some developing markets.I am concerned if you look at the pattern of the agriculture prices when they rose in the crisis. They obviously came down in most developed markets, in some developing markets they did not come down. I am somewhat concerned with lot of liquidity in global markets. You could see additional moves towards the agricultural commodity sector if there are perception of market shortage," Zoellick said.

Since last year's record levels, prices of staple commodities like rice, corn and wheat have fallen, but market watchers believe new spikes are all but inevitable.

The number of hungry people in the world topped one billion this year, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), due to the combined effect of the global financial crisis and a spike in basic food commodities prices.

Zoellick said that climate change problem would be solved only when attention is given to development needs. .

"My primary message is that one will not be able to address the problem of climate change unless the solution draws on the capabilities and needs of both the developed and developing countries. To bring developing countries into the process, one has to be sensitive and appreciate their development needs," he said. (ANI)