Govt to take tough decisions to revive economy: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said his government is determined to take "tough" decisions, including on controlling subsidies, to reverse the expansion of the fiscal deficit, even as he expressed confidence of bringing back the rhythm of high growth of 8-9 per cent per annum.

Concerned over the dip in India's economic growth, Singh said the public in the country is "impatient" for a return to high growth and faster jobs creation.

He also said that steps were being taken to revive investor sentiment in the country.

The Prime Minister addressed some critical issues relating to the slowdown in India's economy in his address during the Plenary Session of the seventh Summit of the Group of 20 developed and developing countries.

"Like other countries, we too allowed the fiscal deficit to expand after 2008 to impart a stimulus. We are now focusing on reversing the expansion. This will require tough decisions, including on controlling subsidies, which we are determined to take," Singh told the galaxy of world leaders including US President Barack Obama.

India is targeting a fiscal deficit of 5.1 per cent of GDP for this fiscal year. But a higher subsidy bill and lower tax revenue have resulted in its fiscal projections for 2011-12 go awry. The fiscal deficit was 5.8 per cent in 2011-12, wider than the initial target of 4.6 per cent.

The country's growth slowed to a nine-year low of 5.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of  2011-12.

Referring to the slowdown in India like other emerging economies, the prime minister acknowledged that internal constraints have also affected performance and that the government was working to correct them.

"The global downturn and especially the impact on capital flows have played their part. Internal constraints have also affected performance and we are working to correct them," he added.