Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday that he would be happy with the economy growing at 8.5 percent this fiscal, steering clear of endorsing the IMF's optimistic figure of 9.5 pc.

Upon being asked about the IMF figure at the sidelines of the Financial inclusion Summit organised here by the Copnfedration of Indian Industries (CII), the minister said that though IMF had revised its April forecast of 8.8 percent to 9.5 percent early this month, the government, however, was sticking to a more conservative 8.5 percent.

“Still (sic), I am being conservative in my assessment. I will be happy with 8.5 per cent plus growth right now,” he added. The minister explained that as the effect of an ongoing recession in some European countries on India had not been studied yet, the government was siding with the conservative estimate.

Commending Indian banks handling of the last year's global financial crisis, he urged these to create opportunities for formal banking among those who had been so far left out. The minister said that the reaching out to this section could provide a forward impetus to the inclusive growth process by tapping into their savings and investment potential.

He cited MNREGS wage payments as an example of how banks could work for inclusive growth while expanding base in rural areas.

“This will lend new meaning to financial inclusion,” Mukherjee added saying that, “the key challenge would be to extend the banking coverage to include the large population living in 6 lakh villages in the country.”