Economy will grow by 8.25-8.75 percent this fiscal and will return to an average growth rate of 9 percent soon, but food prices continue to drive inflation, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.

Stating that gross tax revenue has grown at a robust pace so far in the current fiscal and proceeds from spectrum sale as also disinvestment would help fill the fiscal deficit, Mukherjee said that economic growth would exceed 9 percent in near future.

The auction of 3G and broadband spectrum and disinvestment proceed would help meet the fiscal deficit target, Mukherjee said at the annual Economic Editors Conference in New Delhi.

The gross tax revenue grew by 27.3 percent so far this fiscal as opposed to negative growth rate in the same period last fiscal, he added.

For the current fiscal, he pegged the economic growth at 8.25-8.75 percent.

On inflation, the minister said that food prices were the main driver, while he also expressed concerns on rising rupee having implications on the country’s exports.

He said that strong domestic demand and robust investment climate had led to surge in capital inflow