India’s recovery: ‘Reforms steps only the beginning’
Manmohan Singh’s scandal-scarred government has initiated a string of reforms to further open up few sectors.
NEW DELHI:
India’s premier Manmohan Singh said Saturday his government’s new reforms to spur the economy were “only the beginning”, while lashing out at the “excessive pessimism” that he said is hurting growth. Singh’s scandal-scarred government has initiated a string of reforms to further open up sectors such as retail, insurance and aviation to foreign investment as it seeks to kickstart growth before facing voters in 2014 elections. “The steps we have taken are only the beginning of a process to revive our economy and take it back to its trend growth rate of eight to 9%,” Singh told an audience of corporate leaders in New Delhi. “Our government has acted to reverse the cycle of negative expectations and stimulate investment,” he said. But “excessive pessimism at home” and a “less supportive” global environment have made the Congress-led government’s task of reviving the flagging economy much tougher, he added. India’s economic growth slipped to a near-decade low of 6.5% in the last fiscal year and is expected to fall to around 5.5% this year.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2012.
India’s premier Manmohan Singh said Saturday his government’s new reforms to spur the economy were “only the beginning”, while lashing out at the “excessive pessimism” that he said is hurting growth. Singh’s scandal-scarred government has initiated a string of reforms to further open up sectors such as retail, insurance and aviation to foreign investment as it seeks to kickstart growth before facing voters in 2014 elections. “The steps we have taken are only the beginning of a process to revive our economy and take it back to its trend growth rate of eight to 9%,” Singh told an audience of corporate leaders in New Delhi. “Our government has acted to reverse the cycle of negative expectations and stimulate investment,” he said. But “excessive pessimism at home” and a “less supportive” global environment have made the Congress-led government’s task of reviving the flagging economy much tougher, he added. India’s economic growth slipped to a near-decade low of 6.5% in the last fiscal year and is expected to fall to around 5.5% this year.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2012.