Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday for the first time admitted that India's economy is in a "difficult situation" because of slowing growth, stubborn inflation and a widening fiscal deficit, reported Indo- Asian News Service.

"The economy is in a difficult situation but that does not mean that we shall have to start eating lizards," Mukherjee said in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, which resumed session Wednesday after the government suspended decision to open retail market to foreigners.

India's economic growth slumped to 6.9 percent in the July- September quarter against the budgetary target of 9 percent growth for 2011-12.

During the first half of this fiscal year, the economy grew by 7.3 percent, compared with 7.6 percent last fiscal year.

Mukherjee said the projection of 9 percent growth during the budget was not a "pipe dream," but the unexpected high prices of oil and other commodities coupled with a slowdown in global economies, notably in Europe and the United States, had hit the Indian economy hard.

"The hard fact is there are certain situation on which you do not have a control but you have to face the consequences," he said.

Xinhua