By Arvind Padmanabhan, IANS,
Los Cabos (Mexico) : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday assured that investor sentiment will be improved and the economy nursed to high growth path again, as citizens were “impatient” for more.
“We are determined to create an environment that would boost investor sentiment and promote an atmosphere conducive to enterprise and creativity,” the prime minister told the G20 Summit here.
“Our policies will be transparent, stable and designed to provide a level playing field to both domestic and foreign investors,” he said, using the forum to send the message that his government now meant business.
According to him, even as India´s growth at 6.9 percent appeared good to the outside world, the citizens desired more. He said this desire will be met with steps like infrastructure investment and improving investor sentiment.
“Our growth rate in 2011-12 declined to 6.9 percent from the level of 8.4 percent in the previous year. This may look like a reasonable figure given the growth rates being experienced in the rest of the world,” the prime minister told the plenary session of the G20 Summit.
“But our public is impatient for a return to high growth and faster jobs creation. The fundamentals of the Indian economy remain strong and we are confident of bringing back the rhythm of high growth of 8-9 percent per annum.”
He also said the fiscal stimulus that was injected in 2008 will be reversed and hard decisions taken to cut doles in areas such as fertilizers and fuels.
“In this context, I would like to mention a landmark effort underway in India to provide unique identity numbers for all residents with capture of biometric data,” the prime minister said.
“This massive database covering over a billion people will facilitate delivery of a whole range of financial and other services, through effective targeting and reduced leakages in subsidy schemes.”
(Arvind Padmanabhan can be reached at [email protected])