'There's slowdown but we still are at 5 percent in global economy': K Subramaniyam

New Delhi: Chief Economic Advisor, K Subramaniam on Friday said, "Alive to the imperatives of achieving the target of USD 5 trillion economy as well as the need to handle these short term situations, Govt has been taking pro-active steps, they reflect in recent announcements made by the finance minister."

When asked if the government was in denial as 'mood in the street was that of despondency' he said, "The words we're using are associated with periods of recession, need to be careful in what we're talking about. There's slowdown but we still are at 5 percent in a global economy that's not doing very well."

Earlier on Friday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that several public sector banks would be merged to energise and consolidate their values as the country aims to achieve US 5 trillion dollar economy.