Dismissing govt. target of 9% GDP in the upcoming five years, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Panel Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia Plan today said even achieving average 8% growth need a major strategic effort.
On Friday, Mr Ahluwalia addressed a conference of State Planning Boards and departments in New Delhi where he took a wide look over much worse position of Indian economy that facing global market situation.
“It is not possible to think of an average of 9%. I think somewhere between 8 and 8.5% is feasible… “, he said in a statement.
Here he talked about feasibility that means the targeted GDP will require major effort.
“When I say feasible…that will require major effort. If you don’t do that, there is no God given right to grow at 8 per cent. I think given that the world economy deteriorated very sharply over the last year…the growth rate in the first year of the 12th Plan (2012-13) is 6.5 to 7 per cent,” he told reporters.
However, as per 12th plan, earlier approved by the Planning Commission, an annual average growth rate of 9 per cent has been fixed as reduction in poverty by 10% to less than 20% of the Indian population at the end of 2017.
Before taking final approval on new economic growth target, Mr. Montek would likely to discuss the matter with other members of the Panel at the National Development Council meeting. The meeting will schedule at September as per deadline.
The Commission’s poverty reduction target by 10 per cent came with plan to bring pegging poverty line at Rs. 28.65 per capita daily consumption in cities, that was at 29.8% in 2009-10, down from 37.2% in 2004-05, based on the Tendulkar methodology, report said.
Appreciating Commission’s poverty reduction target by 10 per cent, he said, “I think 10% is a pretty good target which would mean 2% decline every year during the 12th Plan period.”
