New Delhi: The government has implemented structural reforms on a massive scale that have laid the foundation for a rate of growth higher during 2020s than the average 6.5 percent that the country achieved during 1990-2020, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said on Friday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), last month, projected a remarkable 12.5 percent growth rate for the country in 2021. The Economic Survey 2020-21 projected a growth rate of 11 percent for the ongoing financial year, while the Reserve Bank of India retained its growth forecast at 10.5 percent.

"Participating in the discussion on Global Economic Prospects prepared by the World Bank, the presentation by the Vice-President Ayahan Kose was insightful but somewhat pessimistic forecasting a lower growth in the 2020s compared to previous decade," he said in a tweet.  He added that India cannot afford lower GDP growth going forward.

"Therefore, the government has implemented a large number of deep structural reforms which have laid the foundation for a rate of growth higher during 2020s than 6.5 percent which we achieved during 1990-2020," he added.

As per the Central Bank estimates, economic growth is expected to be 26.2 percent in the first quarter, 8.3 percent in second quarter, 5.4 percent in the third quarter and 6.2 percent in the fourth-quarter this fiscal.

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