core sector communique

PRIME MINISTER SINGH CALLS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH AT INDIA ECONOMIC SUMMIT

• India's strategy is rapid and inclusive growth
• Aims to meet expectations of young, growing population
• Anticipates at least 6.5% economic growth in 2009-2010
• Commits to creating an investor-friendly environment  

New Delhi, India, 8 November 2009 – India is aiming for “rapid and inclusive growth” and looks to the future with confidence, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, opening the 25th India Economic Summit.

Prime Minister Singh said that India is committed to “fast and inclusive growth” that will provide productive employment for young people and raise living standards in rural areas across the country. Despite an inadequate monsoon and the resultant slump in agriculture, the prime minister predicted growth of at least 6.5% for 2009-2010. Noting that India’s growth rate has accelerated from 5.6% in the 1980s to an average of nearly 9% in the five-year period preceding the global financial crisis, Singh said that the Indian economy had grown at a “respectable” rate of 6.7% in 2008-2009.

To realize India’s potential for faster growth, he described an ambitious programme of investment in all of the key infrastructure sectors – power, roads, ports, airports, telecommunications, irrigation and urban infrastructure – and pointed to the large role for private investment in helping India achieve its target.

“In many areas, we are pursuing a strategy of private-public partnerships,” he added. “Our policy will be guided by the desire to make India even more attractive for foreign direct investment. We are particularly keen to rationalize and simplify procedures so as to create an investor-friendly environment.”

To fulfil the government’s commitment to achieve inclusive growth, Singh said he would expand government expenditure in critical social sectors, especially health and education, including upgrading the skills of India’s workforce.

The Prime Minister also called on developed countries to provide affordable access to adaptation technologies. “The historic accumulation of CO2 is not the result of what we have done, but is the consequence of 150 years of industrialization in the major developed countries of the world,” he said. “It is our hope … that the world’s major economies will be prepared to create an environment where larger capital flows are available for mitigation and adaptation measures.” India’s National Action Plan to meet the challenges of climate change includes increased energy efficiency and greater use of clean energy technology, including solar energy.

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, noted that India has come a long way in the past 25 years. “Few nations have the growth potential that India already enjoys. India holds the promise of a most successful future. Entrepreneurship drives social and economic progress; however, [it] always has to serve the public interest. This should be at the base of India’s way into a bright future.”

Added Schwab: “The theme of this meeting – India’s Next Generation of Growth – is appropriate. We do not want to look back but [want] to develop a roadmap for the future,” he said.

The World Economic Forum is marking 25 years of active engagement in India at its annual India Economic Summit, taking place in New Delhi from 8 to 10 November. This year’s Summit has set a new record for total participation with over 800 leaders from industry, government, civil society and academia from over 40 countries. The theme for this year’s Summit is “India’s Next Generation of Growth.”

The six industry leaders serving as Co-Chairs for the Summit are: Shumeet Banerji,Chief Executive Officer, Booz & Company, United Kingdom;Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Renault, France; President and Chief Executive Officer, Nissan, Japan; William D. Green, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Accenture, USA; Baba N. Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Forge, India; Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ICICI Bank, India; and Indra Nooyi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo, USA.