Singh hints at milder inflation by Dec.
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Monday admitted that the high inflation is hurting the common masses, but expressed hope that it will come down to 5-6 per cent by December. Dr Singh said at a national press conference to mark the completion of one year of UPA-II in office.
He was confident that India would witness a growth of 8.5 per cent in the current fiscal.
He added the government is working towards creating an environment where trade and industry come forward to reserve jobs for the underprivileged.
The Prime Minister blamed the high international crude prices and drought and floods in parts of the country last year for the high prices.
“The government attaches highest priority in containing inflation so that there is no distress to the common man. As a result of the process we have taken, there are signs of prices showing a moderating trend,” said the Dr Singh. He said that the government will closely “monitor the situation and, together with state governments, take all corrective steps to bring down prices and protect the vulnerable sections of our society from the impact of high prices.”
The Prime Minister didn’t agree that the economy is not in a good condition. He said that when the world was hit by the global financial crisis and some of the economies collapsed, India was impacted only to some extent and was largely protected. “It (GDP growth) reduced to 6.5 per cent in 2008-09 but recovered to 7.2 per cent in 2009-10. We expect 8.5 per cent growth in this financial year. This is widely regarded as one of the best performances among the larger economies of the world,” said Dr Singh.
He said that India needs a rapidly growing economy to generate productive employment and also resources to finance its ambitious social and economic agenda. “Our medium term target is to achieve a growth rate of 10 percent per annum. I am convinced that given our savings and investment rates, this is an achievable target,” he said.
He adds that this achievement will require determined efforts to increase investment in “social and economic infrastructure, enhance productivity in agriculture and give to the manufacturing sector.”
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