Kolkata, Jun 13: Reiterating that his appetite is for ‘infinite growth’ of Indian economy, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has exuded confidence of achieving double digit growth during the 12th Plan period beginning in two years.
Speaking to newspersons here last night after simultaneously inaugurating ten operational branches of the private sector ‘Yes Bank’ in the city and in Northeastern states, Mr Mukherjee said this (double digit growth) would be possible as the banking sector, during the past few years, along with other industries, had undergone a paradigm shift in all respect.
Further claiming that India could even achieve a staggering 20 per cent growth in a ‘not too distant future’, the Finance Minister said it could be possible because of the inherent strength of the Indian economy, including the Banking sector.
Providing a detailed picture of the steady economic growth since independence, Mr Mukherjee said between 1951 and 1979 the then Indian economy grew by a mere 3.5 per cent before touching the 5.2 per cent mark in 1980s. While during the 8th plan period (1991-96) the national economy grew by about 5.6 per cent, in the current 11th plan it went up as high as 7.5 to eight per cent and was now poised to touch the magic nine per cent mark.
Giving full credit to the professional approach and transparency in government dealing for the steady growth trajectory, Mr Mukherjee said Indian economy deserved such stupendous growth by all counts despite the presence of some minor hitches here and there. He, however, did not elaborate.
He said such growth would not only ensure a speedy development but also create many more employment opportunities in both organised and unorganised sectors. The days of commitments were now over, he said but emphasized the need for legal provisioning of all government sponsored schemes like the right to 100 days work and the right to information.
Asked to comment on the unabated inflationary trends in food prices, Mr Mukherjee, admitting the government’s limited success in containing the trend, said the prices of edible oil, pulses and sugar could not be controlled because of the present global economic situation after the downturn, affecting both export and imports.
The state government’s failure to streamline the Public Distribution System (PDS) was also partly responsible for the present fiasco, the union minister opined but hoped that the situation would soon improve following strengthening of the PDS system.
–Agencies