Painfully conceding that India’s economy has slowed down during the last two years, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Tuesday tried to put a brave front saying there are lots of positives in the country’s growth during the past ten years because the development has been “inclusive”.
Delivering a lecture here at the Ravenshaw University, Ahluwalia made a valiant effort to drive home the point by saying that India’s economic report card under the UPA I and II have been the best the country has ever seen. “Growth in the past decade has been better than the previous
decade,” he said.
“India may not be able to achieve its targeted growth of the 12th Plan, mainly because of the global slowdown, but I am sure the growth we have achieved during the past ten years has been much more inclusive,” he said, pointing out that there has been a sharp reduction of population below poverty line, percentage of population depending on agriculture is beginning to fall, uniformity in growth and huge increase of connectivity across the country.
He said more than 140 million people have crossed over from below poverty line (BPl) to above poverty line between 2004 and 2011, and for the first time after Independence, the country is witnessing a decline in people depending on agriculture. “A transformation from agricultural economy to nonagricultural economy is one of the prerequisites to achieve rapid economic growth,” he said.
Ahluwalia also expressed satisfaction that the country has witnessed uniformity in growth over these years in which the Bimarou (putting Odisha into the acronym along with Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) States have achieved commendable growths during the past decade.
He, however, suggested that India needs macroeconomic stability to achieve the targets set up for the 12th Plan and went on to advocate for more and more investments in infrastructure by reducing fiscal deficit.
He also suggested for massive tax reforms in proportion to the GDP and said whoever forms the next Government implementation of GST is very much on the cards. Appearing very critical on subsidies, Ahluwalia was of the opinion to control the subsidies by removing it in certain sectors.
“The ratio of subsidies to GDP is increasing, and we need to bring it down,” he said. He was also of the view to spend more on education, particularly in developing educational skills.
Ahluwalia was delivering the lecture in memory of freedom fighter, eminent lawyer and former Union law Minister Bibudhendra Misra in which Odisha Chief Justice AK Goel joined as the chief guest. University Vice Chancellor BC Tripathy presided over the meeting, which was attended, among others, by lawyers, intellectuals and students.