New Delhi, Sept 3 (KNN) In the wake of the corporate sector facing a severe slowdown, the government is pinning hopes on the small and medium enterprises to achieve above 5 per cent growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the current financial year.

“If the non-corporate sector-the SME sector does better, then the final GDP figures will be much higher,” Chairman of the National Statistical Council, Pronab Sen told Indian Express.

In order to help the economy overcome the on-going crisis, the government needs to give more support to the SMEs which contribute nearly 8.72 per cent to the country’s GDP.
“How long can SMEs shoulder the burden of boosting growth?” Sen asked.

He also pitched for strong support from the state governments to the SME sector.

Meanwhile, with a large number of big corporates battling slowdown, more and more banks are eyeing the MSMEs for credit growth.

The global banking giants like JPMorgan, HSBC Global Research, Nomura and ICRA have cut their growth forecast on India to below 5 per cent for the current financial year (FY14).

Goldman Sachs has cut India's GDP growth rate forecast to 4 per cent from 6 per cent earlier for the current financial year. (KNN/SD)