PM shares India Inc’s dismay at lack of political consensus on reforms
7 Dec 2013 11:04 PM GMT
Flagging 'anxieties' of business leaders on issues like red tape, tax laws, regulation and procedures, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said that he often found it tough to deal with these challenges due to 'lack of political consensus on reforms'.
'In the past few months, Indian business leaders have been worried. I understand their anxieties about red tape, our tax laws and administration, our regulations and procedures,' he said addressing the 11th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here.
'I often found it tough to deal with these challenges because of a lack of political consensus on the reforms, we need to bring in,' he said and lauded the business community for coping up with the competition despite the odds.
Seeking to dispel apprehensions of the economy going downhill, the Prime Minister said, 'Through all the ups and down in the face of global challenges and despite the burden of past policy mistakes, our economy is on a rising growth trajectory'.
Singh noted that the rate of growth has more that doubled to an annual average of over 7 per cent in the last two decades and the Indian economy is on an upward trajectory.
'Naturally there will be periods of ups and downs. The economic cycle presents us years of high performance and years of modest performance. But the highs are getting higher and so are the lows.’
‘Today, many feel dissatisfied with the annual rate of five per cent, while for more than two decades, five per cent was the target rate of growth of our five year plans,' the Prime Minister said.
He said the government's biggest challenge in trying to sustain this process of inclusive growth has been to bring rates of inflation down and keep the fiscal deficit under control. 'These remain a challenge and are being seriously addressed,' Singh said.
Striking a word of caution against 'any sudden acceleration of growth', the Prime Minister said that this, as was seen in the period 2004-2008, creates 'imbalances that can contribute to inflation'.
'Such growth can also create opportunities for personal enrichment that distorts governance and creates social resentment. Rising economic growth has helped to liberate millions of Indians from chronic poverty, reducing the incidence of poverty, but it has also widened social and economic inequalities,’ the Prime Minister said.
'Our strategy of inclusive growth has sought to blunt the edge of such disparities,' he added. Singh recalled that when he had entered politics
in the midst of a crisis in 1991, he had to worry not only about reducing the fiscal deficit and reviving economic growth, but also about stabilising the rupee and ensuring access to adequate foreign exchange as a result of the breakdown of the bio-polar world.
'Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, we took momentous decisions both with respect to our economic policies and with respect to our foreign policy. Prime Minister Rao launched what has come to be known as India's Look East Policy, linking India to the new growth engines of Asia.
'We liberalised our trade and investment rules to help us re-integrate with the global economy. In doing this, we were inspired by the experience of many East and South-East Asian countries,' he said.
Since then, the country has faced multiple challenges on the external front but it managed to protect its core economic and foreign
policy interests, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh concluded.
'In the past few months, Indian business leaders have been worried. I understand their anxieties about red tape, our tax laws and administration, our regulations and procedures,' he said addressing the 11th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here.
'I often found it tough to deal with these challenges because of a lack of political consensus on the reforms, we need to bring in,' he said and lauded the business community for coping up with the competition despite the odds.
Seeking to dispel apprehensions of the economy going downhill, the Prime Minister said, 'Through all the ups and down in the face of global challenges and despite the burden of past policy mistakes, our economy is on a rising growth trajectory'.
Singh noted that the rate of growth has more that doubled to an annual average of over 7 per cent in the last two decades and the Indian economy is on an upward trajectory.
'Naturally there will be periods of ups and downs. The economic cycle presents us years of high performance and years of modest performance. But the highs are getting higher and so are the lows.’
‘Today, many feel dissatisfied with the annual rate of five per cent, while for more than two decades, five per cent was the target rate of growth of our five year plans,' the Prime Minister said.
He said the government's biggest challenge in trying to sustain this process of inclusive growth has been to bring rates of inflation down and keep the fiscal deficit under control. 'These remain a challenge and are being seriously addressed,' Singh said.
Striking a word of caution against 'any sudden acceleration of growth', the Prime Minister said that this, as was seen in the period 2004-2008, creates 'imbalances that can contribute to inflation'.
'Such growth can also create opportunities for personal enrichment that distorts governance and creates social resentment. Rising economic growth has helped to liberate millions of Indians from chronic poverty, reducing the incidence of poverty, but it has also widened social and economic inequalities,’ the Prime Minister said.
'Our strategy of inclusive growth has sought to blunt the edge of such disparities,' he added. Singh recalled that when he had entered politics
in the midst of a crisis in 1991, he had to worry not only about reducing the fiscal deficit and reviving economic growth, but also about stabilising the rupee and ensuring access to adequate foreign exchange as a result of the breakdown of the bio-polar world.
'Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, we took momentous decisions both with respect to our economic policies and with respect to our foreign policy. Prime Minister Rao launched what has come to be known as India's Look East Policy, linking India to the new growth engines of Asia.
'We liberalised our trade and investment rules to help us re-integrate with the global economy. In doing this, we were inspired by the experience of many East and South-East Asian countries,' he said.
Since then, the country has faced multiple challenges on the external front but it managed to protect its core economic and foreign
policy interests, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh concluded.
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