Hyderabad, May 06: Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the government is committed to deepening reforms to put the country on a high growth path of 8-10 per cent, which is needed to eliminate poverty.
"We are aware of the challenges before us. It will be our constant endeavour to address these challenges by deepening the reforms and put the country on a trend growth rate of 8-10 per cent for eliminating poverty," Chidambaram told a business session at Asian Development Bank (ADB) annual meeting here.
"India has achieved an average growth rate of nearly 8 per cent in the last three years that is a robust demonstration of its nascent strengths....As the country moves to a higher growth plan, there is a need to supplement domestic resources with foreign investments," he said.
Our economic reforms over the last 15 years, the role played by the private sector and the rising domestic consumption had been the drivers of this growth, he said.
Stating that the investment rate in the country was around 30 per cent of the GDP with a major chunk of it being funded by domestic savings, Chidambaram sought more foreign investments to take the country on a higher growth trajectory.
Lauding the ADB for its crucial role in economic development of the Asia-Pacific region, he sought the bank's support in attracting private investments in the developing member countries.
The "Emerging Asia" faced the challenge of maintaining high and inclusive growth, leading to sustainable development and ADB's strategic priorities could help address this challenge if they were sensitive to the development priorities of the member countries, Chidambaram, also the chairman of the ADB Board of Governors, said.
He projected an optimistic outlook for Asian region despite the risks posed by high global prices and widening international payment imbalances.
The resurgence of Asia has been largely due to economic reforms that have brought efficiency gains, critical public investments in infrastructure, and human development. "Reforms have also enlarged the space for the private sector in economic growth," he said.
FM holds series of bilateral meetings
Finance Minister P Chidambaram today held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various countries including Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.
The meetings took place on the sidelines of the 39th annual general meet of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) here. Chidambaram, the chairman of the ADB board of governors, had presided over the four-day mega event being held in India for the second time. The first time the ADB meet was held in India was in 1990 in New Delhi.
The Finance Minister met Malaysian Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Australian Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer Peter Dutton, New Zealand Minister for Economic Development and Associate Minister for Finance Trevor Mallard and Cambodian senior minister of economy and finance Keat Chhon.
During the meetings, issues of bilateral interest and ADB's future engagement in the Asia-Pacific region were discussed.
In the last two days, the finance minister also held meetings with his counterparts from China, Korea, Japan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Bureau Report
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