Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 10:10:11 PM EST

BANGALORE, India, May 31 (UPI) -- An Indian business group predicted the nation's gross domestic product will grow this fiscal year at 7.2 percent.

The Confederation of Indian Industry said that its estimate was a composite of predicted growth in several sectors, the Press Trust of India reported Tuesday.

The confederation expects the agriculture sector to grow at 3 percent, industry at 8.1 percent and services at 8.3 percent.

The group also said that India needed a high rate of sustained growth to alleviate poverty, increase living standards and reduce "differentiation."


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