HSBC sees India's GDP growth at 6.2%

Global banking major, HSBC has retained its India GDP growth forecast of 6.2 per cent in FY10 but hiked the outlook for next fiscal by 0.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent given the economic recovery.

"We have decided to leave the FY10 GDP growth forecast of 6.2 per cent unchanged. For 2010-11, the growth forecast has been revised to 8.5 per cent as against the earlier forecast of 8 per cent," HSBC co-head Asian Economics, Global markets, Robert Prior-Wandesforde told reporters in Mumbai.

The WPI-inflation, Wandesforde said, is set to touch a height of 8 per cent by February-March, which will be primarily contributed by a surge in energy and manufacturing prices.

In its quarterly review of the monetary policy, Reserve Bank had projected inflation at 6.5 per cent by end-March and pegged the GDP growth at 6 per cent with an upward bias.

Wandesforde said the apex bank's actions were sufficient to hint that the Indian monetary policy is moving to an inflation-focused regime.

"RBI's actions were more of preemptive to avoid an asset bubble in the system. They may have done it to convince the market that the monetary policy is now inflation-focused," Wandesforde said.