A lower than 7 per cent growth will not hurt jobs in the country even as current trends indicate that GDP growth in India for 2009-10 would exceed that in 2008-09, planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told the World Economic forum.

"For the economy as a whole, including agriculture sector, I don't believe that the total number of jobs will go down even if GDP growth is at 7 per cent or less than 7 per cent," Ahluwalia said.

He said inflation was no more a problem facing the Indian economy and the government was closely watching the situation. The government would bring any needed measures without hesitation if the situation demands, he said.

Speaking at a seminar jointly organised by the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi, he said the recent changes in monetary policy reflect this perspective.

Ahluwalia said normalcy in markets will start returning with positive perceptions regarding the market not falling any further. He said regulatory changes are in the pipeline and would be implemented at the national level, with possibly global bodies providing oversight.

Expressing optimism over the recently concluded G20 meeting he pointed out that the there was complete unanimity among particpating nations to on the need to forge a common strategy for providing the needed fiscal stimulus.

He, however, did not rule out the possibility that in some sectors of industry, which were badly affected, there could be some loss of jobs.