Apr 22, 2006
Indian Economy
Indian economy can do better: MontekWashington, April 22
The Indian economy continues to be on an accelerated trend with an upsurge in investments, low inflation rate and ample foreign exchange, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, has said.
"There is upsurge in investments, inflation below 4 per cent and a surfeit of foreign exchange reserves, in the neighbourhood of $150 billion," Mr Ahluwalia said at an United States India Business Council-CII event here sponsored by The Tata Group.
He, however, added that the government was not satisfied with the present growth rate and seen in the context of China, there had been a rise in public expectations. "The bar has been raised," the economist said yesterday.
Mr Ahluwalia maintained that there could be a gradual acceleration to a 10 per cent growth rate over the next five years with the average growth being between 8 and 9 per cent.
"India can get to a 10 per cent growth rate but the questions that are to be posed are over what period and the kind of policies that are needed to be put in place to achieve this objective. We are quite clear that this acceleration will not come from simply business as usual," he said.
During the interactive session, Mr Ahluwalia made a point that while there had been "good" growth of the economy, the feeling in the country was that it had not been "sufficiently inclusive", like that for people involved in agriculture.
"The perception has been of a failure to put in place a set of policies that will generate good agricultural growth. That in turn is very much linked to modernising Indian agriculture," he said.
He said if economic growth was to be inclusive, it had to factor in agriculture, including the critical issue of how to get the Indian farmer to diversify.
The Deputy Chairman also raised the issue of regional disparities, saying the reason for it was the lack of infrastructure. — PTI
by erectusplus at 11:13 PM |
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