Kalam for 10% GDP growth

President APJ Abdul Kalam on Wednesday said that India's GDP has to grow at a rate of 10 per cent over the next decade, to uplift the 260 million people living below the poverty line.

He suggested a five-point roadmap for the country that will place the nation on a higher growth trajectory, against the present level of 7-8 per cent.

Addressing the 100th Annual General Meeting of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kalam said, to achieve this target, the country needs to focus on five areas -- agriculture and food processing, reliable and quality infrastructure, education and healthcare, information and communication technology and development of strategic sectors.

"These are closely related and if properly implemented, will lead to economic and national security of our country in the coming years," Kalam said.

He said India would be able to achieve the desired GDP growth rate with stress onwater, energy, and education and skills, infrastructure and employment generation. This, he said, would be possible only with the support of private enterprises and local initiatives.

He also highlighted the role the country's banking sector can play in reinforcing the economy by servicing micro-economic needs. "This will accelerate the growth cycle and competitiveness of Indian products in the world market," he said.

Elaborating on the inherent strengths of the country, Kalam said with almost half the population under the age of 25, the universities and education system should create two cadres of personnel.

A global cadre of skilled youth with special skills and another cadre with higher education. These two cadres would be required not only for powering the manufacturing and service sectors of India, but also be needed for fulfilling the human resource requirements of other countries.

He said that universities would have to work towards increasing the output of the higher education system from the present level of 6 per cent to 20 per cent by 2015, 30 per cent by 2020 and 50 per cent by 2040.