India strong enough to grow at 8%: PM

Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the global economy is going through choppy waters. India will emerge stronger from this crisis, he added. According to Singh, there is a need for a global safety net against delinquencies of a few. Global institutions must be made more inclusive and representative, he added. The Prime Minister feels that a pragmatic approach to policy can help India deal with challenges. “At G20, I urged leaders to recognise interdependencies of economies,” he said.

The PM feels that India has the capacity to sustain 8% growth rate despite the global turmoil. The use of fiscal and monetary policy ensured minimum impact of crisis, he added. No fiscal and monetary tool would be spared against the crisis, he said. Singh hopes that the structure of global financial institutions will be scrutinised. He is conscious that SMEs and the unorganised sector needs special attention. He is committed to ensuring that the industry sails through the crisis.

The new interdependency of nations - no nation is an island into itself. That is why at the recent G-20 summit last week, I urged world leaders to recognize these interdependencies and our stake in our collective future. We need a global safety net so that the poor of the world do not pay a price for the profligacy of the rich and the delinquency of a few. Global problems require global solutions and this is the most important lesson of the past century for the present. But global institutions of governance must be made more inclusive and more representative. The voice of the developing world must be heard by the high councils of the global decision making.

The message of the economic and social crisis now gripping the world and also that extremist ideologies; political or economic have harmful consequences. The idea of India based on the rejection of extreme respect for diversity and pluralism and the expectance of the middle path, offers new pathways to progress for humanity in distress. When nations have tilted to the extremes, they have either hurt themselves or hauled or harmed the world at large. To regain balance they have always had to return to the middle path of social and economic progress. I do believe that such a pragmatic approach to policy can help us deal with the challenges that our world faces today.



My call for moderation is not a rejection of boundless ambition. In some areas of human conduct such an ambition is a necessary part of the progress we seek. Last week the Indian tricolour landed on the moon. I salute with pride our space scientist and engineers.

The Indian industry must have the confidence that it has a Government which knows its mind, which knows how to tackle this crisis as we have tackled the crisis of 1991 before, which was much more severe. We have the will and the resources and the wisdom to deal and grapple with this crisis.

The message I do wish to convey to the Indian industry is a message of hope and self confidence. Government and industry will work together to ensure that India’s development potential is fully realized. No instrument of public policy will be spared, whether it is fiscal policy, monetary policy, exchange rate policy, public investment policy all will be deployed to ensure a environment conducive to the growth of enterprise and encouragement of the spirit of adventure and enterprise.

Source: Moneycontrol