'A 6 per cent growth is quite good'

James H. Quigley, CEO, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, was in the capital to attend the three-day India Economic Forum. In a conversation with BT’s Manu Kaushik, he spoke on the economic crisis and its impact on India. Excerpts:

Do you see a global recession following the current economic crisis?
I think the whole notion of global recession is that every market is going to be contracted. I don’t think that’s going to occur. I think the fundamentals in some markets are quite different. At the same time, the economy is very interdependent.

What kind of recovery is more likely to happen—L-shape or U-shape?
I am probably more in the Lshaped world. I think it’s going to be quite a slow and prolonged effort to get things moving again.

Do you think India will be able to sustain a respectable economic growth in the near future?
If India can continue to move its economy forward at 6 per cent, which is the current forecast, then things will be good. You’re not going to create the same number of jobs that you would at 8 per cent but you will bring new participants to the economy.