Dun and Bradstreet - India grows at 9.7%

The Indian economy grew by 9.4% in FY07, driven by the buoyant manufacturing sector, which grew by 12.3% - the highest growth rate in the last six years, a Dun and Bradstreet report said.

The service sector grew by 11% during the same period. While the industry sector contributed 27.9% to the GDP in FY07, the service sector contributed a much higher 54.6%, the report said.

India's infrastructure sector has grown at an average of around 6.5% per annum during FY03-FY07.

"In FY07, its growth was above average at 8.6%, as compared to 6.2% in the previous year, owing to good performances of crude petroleum, electricity and petroleum refinery products," the report said.

In fact, petroleum refinery products witnessed a double-digit growth due to higher capacity utilisation at refineries. Cement and steel production remained buoyant as well, on account of rise in construction and real estate activities across the country.

The report further said while India spends around 5.63% of its GDP on infrastructure, China spends about 9.0%.