By KUNA
New Delhi : Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed hope on Friday that the country’s economy would continue to grow at a fast rate and attain a nine percent growth this financial year.
“I do not see any reason why we cannot sustain a nine-percent growth even in the face of a global slowdown,” the premier said in his address at the 80th annual session of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
“There are global concerns of a slowdown. We need to be aware of these concerns. We will take steps to limit the impact on us. Our finance and commerce ministers are seized of the matter,” Dr Manmohan Singh said.
“I know some of you are not happy about our emphasis on inflation control. There have been some impatient editorials about the sacrifice of growth at the altar of inflation control,” he said, adding, “It hurts the poor more than the rich. Therefore, it is essential we ensure that the poor are not adversely affected by high inflation, particularly basic items of consumption. This is a matter of social priority and of their survival.” “There is an underlying dynamism in our economy,” the PM said. “There will be ups and downs. There will be leads and lags. There will be sectoral and regional imbalances. These should be addressed,” he added.
“We need reform of our health system, especially our public hospitals,” he said, adding, “We are looking at new models of affordable health insurance and other related strategies.”