NEW DELHI – India’s Ministry of Finance forecast on Monday 6.75 percent growth for the fiscal year ending in March – 4 decimal points lower than last year – and predicted 7-7.5 percent growth for the next financial year.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Economic Survey 2017-2018 in the parliament, which predicts 6.75 percent growth for the current period, compared to the 7.1 percent registered in the same period last year; and projects the Gross Domestic Product growing between 7 and 7.5 percent in 2018-2019.

The Survey also projects 3.3 percent inflation rate for the current fiscal year, compared to the 4.5 percent registered in 2016-2017.

“The economy has witnessed a gradual transition from a period of high and variable inflation to more stable prices in the last four years,” the ministry said in a statement.

The report highlights that exports grew at 12.1 percent in April-December 2017, compared to 5.2 growth witnessed during the fiscal year 2016-2017; while the fiscal deficit forecast has been reduced to 3.2 percent, compared to 3.5 percent deficit registered in the last fiscal year.

According to the survey, the foreign currency reserve grew 14.1 percent from $370 billion in December 2016 to around $409 million in December 2017.

In last year’s survey, the government predicted 6.5-7.5 percent growth for the financial year 2017-2018 and presented a budget in Feb. 2017 with a growth target of 7.5 percent.

Last month the Reserve Bank of India announced growth forecast of 6.7 percent for the current financial year.

The Indian economy recovered a little in the second quarter of the fiscal year – July-September – by registering 6.3 percent growth, after five consecutive quarters saw it diving from 7.9 percent to 5.7 percent, hit by the process of demonetization and reform of the indirect tax system.