PM projects 10% growth in 2 years
The Financial Express, January 9, 2010, Page 2
fe Bureaus, New Delhi
India can achieve double-digit growth in the next two years, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday, while projecting around 7% growth for the current fiscal.
“We hope to achieve this year a growth rate of around 7%, which is one of the fastest in the world. We are equally optimistic that we can return to and sustain an annual growth rate of 9-10% in a couple of years,” he said.
Speaking at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas function, Singh promised the government would address bottlenecks in infrastructure, a day after ArcelorMittal chairman Laxmi Mittal criticised the government for slow progress on realising projects. ArcelorMittal and Korean company Posco have endured delays of more than two years in their efforts to build 37 million tonne of capacity in India, at a cost of roughly $37 billion. It is probably true that we are a slow-moving elephant but it is equally true that with each step forward we leave behind a deep imprint, Singh said.
Speaking at the same function, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee projected a more robust growth rate of 7.75% for 2009-10. The economy grew at 6.7% in 2008-09, as compared to a 9%-plus growth in the previous three years. He said the stimulus measures have started paying dividends, as the Indian economy grew 7.9% in July-September. The country fiscal deficit, though, is expected to widen to 6.8% of the gross domestic product as a result of these stimulus measures.
The prime minister urged Indians living abroad to look at long-term investments in India and help the government to accelerate growth and social development. “Oversees Indians, however, while being good savers tend to be somewhat conservative investors. Most remittances are placed in bank deposits. Foreign direct investment in India by overseas Indians is low and far short of potential,” Singh said.
The finance minister stressed despite the economic slowdown that struck India last year, the country recorded 8.6% average annual growth rate in the last five years. He promised continuation of the economic reforms started in early 1990s. The government is planning a major overhaul of the direct and indirect taxation regime with announcing its intent to introduce the Direct Taxes Code and the Goods and Service Tax. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also argued that India would clock 9-10% growth.
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Social security net mooted for Indian workers returning home
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said the government is planning a social security net for the global economic crisis-hit workers returning to India. He said security of overseas Indian workers and students was a top priority of his government.
“We are conscious of the need to structure an appropriate ‘Return and Resettlement Fund and we are working on a project to provide a social security safety net for the returning workers,” Singh said inaugurating the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas function.
“About 40% of the total remittances of over $50 billion in 2007-2008 came from skilled and semi-skilled overseas Indian workers. Many of them have been badly affected by the economic crisis,” Singh noted at the function. He said India has been negotiating with countries with large emigrant Indian populations to improve the welfare and protection offered to our workers.
Over the last year, India signed labour agreements with Malaysia, Bahrain and Qatar that create institutional frameworks to look into issues such as recruitment, terms of employment and workers¿ welfare, he said. Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has also established the `Indian Community Welfare Fund in 18 countries in which there is a significant overseas Indian workforce, he added.
“We must together position India as a supplier of skilled and trained manpower across a wide spectrum of skill sets and sectors,” he said. He said the government was working to enhance work opportunities for Indian skilled manpower, particularly in the West, by building labour mobility partnerships with key countries in the European Union. India has have finalized one such partnership with Denmark.
The Financial Express, January 9, 2010, Page 2
fe Bureaus, New Delhi
India can achieve double-digit growth in the next two years, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday, while projecting around 7% growth for the current fiscal.
“We hope to achieve this year a growth rate of around 7%, which is one of the fastest in the world. We are equally optimistic that we can return to and sustain an annual growth rate of 9-10% in a couple of years,” he said.
Speaking at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas function, Singh promised the government would address bottlenecks in infrastructure, a day after ArcelorMittal chairman Laxmi Mittal criticised the government for slow progress on realising projects. ArcelorMittal and Korean company Posco have endured delays of more than two years in their efforts to build 37 million tonne of capacity in India, at a cost of roughly $37 billion. It is probably true that we are a slow-moving elephant but it is equally true that with each step forward we leave behind a deep imprint, Singh said.
Speaking at the same function, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee projected a more robust growth rate of 7.75% for 2009-10. The economy grew at 6.7% in 2008-09, as compared to a 9%-plus growth in the previous three years. He said the stimulus measures have started paying dividends, as the Indian economy grew 7.9% in July-September. The country fiscal deficit, though, is expected to widen to 6.8% of the gross domestic product as a result of these stimulus measures.
The prime minister urged Indians living abroad to look at long-term investments in India and help the government to accelerate growth and social development. “Oversees Indians, however, while being good savers tend to be somewhat conservative investors. Most remittances are placed in bank deposits. Foreign direct investment in India by overseas Indians is low and far short of potential,” Singh said.
The finance minister stressed despite the economic slowdown that struck India last year, the country recorded 8.6% average annual growth rate in the last five years. He promised continuation of the economic reforms started in early 1990s. The government is planning a major overhaul of the direct and indirect taxation regime with announcing its intent to introduce the Direct Taxes Code and the Goods and Service Tax. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also argued that India would clock 9-10% growth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Social security net mooted for Indian workers returning home
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said the government is planning a social security net for the global economic crisis-hit workers returning to India. He said security of overseas Indian workers and students was a top priority of his government.
“We are conscious of the need to structure an appropriate ‘Return and Resettlement Fund and we are working on a project to provide a social security safety net for the returning workers,” Singh said inaugurating the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas function.
“About 40% of the total remittances of over $50 billion in 2007-2008 came from skilled and semi-skilled overseas Indian workers. Many of them have been badly affected by the economic crisis,” Singh noted at the function. He said India has been negotiating with countries with large emigrant Indian populations to improve the welfare and protection offered to our workers.
Over the last year, India signed labour agreements with Malaysia, Bahrain and Qatar that create institutional frameworks to look into issues such as recruitment, terms of employment and workers¿ welfare, he said. Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has also established the `Indian Community Welfare Fund in 18 countries in which there is a significant overseas Indian workforce, he added.
“We must together position India as a supplier of skilled and trained manpower across a wide spectrum of skill sets and sectors,” he said. He said the government was working to enhance work opportunities for Indian skilled manpower, particularly in the West, by building labour mobility partnerships with key countries in the European Union. India has have finalized one such partnership with Denmark.
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