Slow pace of growth to be reversed, PM says in ID speech.
By R. Chandrasekaran
CHENNAI: The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has exuded confidence that his government will be able to break the downturn jinx of the economy that the country is currently undergoing due to both internal as well as external factors.
As a fall out of a significant drop in the Indian currency, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government have been taking steps to protect the Indian currency, thereby sacrificing growth in the process. This has the potential to drive India to deliver another year of a low growth after the country’s economy growth slowed to 5 percent in the last fiscal year, which is the slowest in a decade.
Addressing the nation on the occasion of the 67th Independence Day on Thursday, Dr. Manmohan Singh is confident that this slow pace of growth will not last long. He cited the average economic growth rate during the last nine years and the recent steps taken to address the currency as well as growth issues. On an average, Indian economy grew 7.9 percent a year in the last nine years, according to the government.
The prime minister blamed the poor performance of farm, mining and manufacturing sectors for the slower growth in the last fiscal year.
He also said that India is not the only country to face the economic slowdown and indicated that growth in developing economies were affected, resulting in slump in export markets.
Singh termed that swift economic growth is essential for achieving its targets of removal of poverty, creating new employment avenues apart from providing good quality education and health services.
The Prime Minister indicated that, “In the coming months, we will see visible results of these efforts to increase investment. Our growth will accelerate, new employment opportunities will be generated and there will be improvements in the infrastructure sector.”
Singh also disclosed that his government will commence work on more infrastructure projects during the coming months including new airports, rail projects and industrial corridors.
Pointing out the short of coal supply hurting the electricity generation, the prime minister said that his government resolved this to a large extent.
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