New Delhi, Sep 1 - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said the global economic slump that had also hit India was finally drawing to a close with a pick-up expected in the ensuing months, even though poor monsoon did not bode well for the country.

'We have been through a difficult year because of the global economic downturn, which is only now coming to an end with a slow return to normalcy in the months that lie ahead,' the prime minister told a meeting of the full Planning Commission, which he chairs.

'But the country has also seen a poor monsoon,' he told the meeting at the plan panel's headquarters at Yojana Bhavan here - the first after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was voted back to power.

'I agree with the general approach that while we must do everything necessary to tackle the drought, we should not be over-pessimistic. We are in a very strong position to manage the consequences of the drought,' he said.

'Our food stocks in particular are very high.'

The prime minister's comments came against the backdrop of drought being declared in 252 out of India's 626 districts, even as fresh official data said Indian economy grew 6.1 percent in the first quarter this fiscal.

The meeting, attended by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, among other key policymakers, also reviewed India's energy policy.

'Energy is vital to our economic growth. This is an area where we are a deficit economy. We import over 70 percent of our petroleum energy needs and are also moving to a deficit position in coal,' Manmohan Singh said.