Economy's boom period to continue in 2007 Expressindia.com, Bangalore, January 1, 2007: India's boom time seems set for a replay in 2007 driven by industrial and services sector expansion, though high inflation in 2006 raised doubts about overheating in the world's second fastest growing economy. With an average growth of 8 per cent in the preceding three financial years, the first quarter of calendar 2006 (Q4 of FY'06) ended with a GDP growth of 9.3 per cent, setting the stage for high growth trajectory for the current fiscal. The first half of FY'07 closed with 9.1 per cent, the highest in any first six months of a financial year since the reforms began in 1991-92. "This has never happened in the past," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in his address to the National Development Council meeting earlier this month. Encouraged by the economic performance since 2003-04, the UPA Government set a 11th Plan growth target of nine per cent which, as the Prime Minister described it, is "ambitious, but feasible." Observers feel if India achieves the nine per cent average growth in the next four years, culminating into double digit figure of 10 per cent in 2012, it would be firmly placed in the front ranks of the fast growing developing nations. However, headline inflation has remained over five per cent on the back of excess credit growth and supply side constraints of essential commodities. This has led experts to wonder whether the economy is overheating. Back