Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who returned from the Japan tour on Saturday, has said that the time was favourable for fast economic growth.
He speaking in New Delhi on the occasion of release of a copy of the report on India's Rurural Infrastructure prepared by National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
Former governor of Reserve Bank of India Bimal Jalan, and members of the governing body of the institute Dr Suman Berry and Dr M S Verma were also present during the occasion.
"Circumstances are today favourable for sustained, rapid and equitable growth of the Indian economy. The National Development Council has recently directed that we should aim for a growth rate of 10% by the end of the 11th Plan. Rapid growth is needed to provide hope and productive employment for the millions of young people joining the labour force each year, and to accelerate the reduction of extreme poverty," Singh said in his speech delivered at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of NCAER.
He recalled how the first prime minister of Independent India Pandit Nehru had taken personal interest in setting up NCAER and other institutes of excellence as Panditji felt "through focused intellectual and policy effort, India could overcome the economic stagnation of the colonial period and once again take its place as a major economy in the world," Singh said.
He said that public policy must be informed by empirical research and shaped by changing reality. And, when facts change opinion, diagnosis and policy must change too. In the realm of public policy there is no virtue in holding on to one's beliefs if these are not based on facts and experience.
Singh said that he was happy to note that the growth proces began from external sector and has now spread to the the manufacturing sector and the growth continues to be extremely buoyant. While lauding the all round growth in various key sectors Singh cautioned against being complacent.
"I would like to articulate five challenges that I believe will engage us over the next decade both as a prerequisite for fast growth and as consequence of it. These are revitalisation of the rural economy; improved delivery of essential public services; improved management of our urban areas; preparing our financial system for greater inclusion and increased global integration and establishing a regulatory culture to facilitate cost-effective private investment in infrastructure," he said.
