New Delhi, Sept. 24 -- India's ability to sustain 7 per cent economic growth in the current financial year could depend significantly on where crude oil prices settle, with oil prices above USD 100 a barrel posing a challenge to the growth outlook, Economist Santosh Mehrotra said in an exclusive conversation with ANI.

Mehrotra said the latest 7.8 per cent quarterly growth needs to be viewed against India's longer-term growth performance and the changing global environment.

He noted that India's average growth rate over the last 12 years has been about 6.2 per cent per annum, while oil prices during much of that period were consistently USD 60 or less.

"The 7 per cent growth might happen if the oil prices come down," Mehrotra said, addi...