Committing himself to ‘hard and difficult’ decisions for long-term interest of the economy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday expressed confidence that the economy will return to the growth path of 8 per cent.
Inviting Japanese investments in the infrastructure sector, he told captains of industry here that a target of $1 trillion has been set for the sector in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), and hoped that Japanese businessmen will pick up a large share of these opportunities.
“Our people have tasted benefits of rapid growth and they will not settle for less. I want to assure you that our Government is committed to taking hard and difficult decisions in the long-term interest of our economy,” he said at a meeting of the Nippon Keidanren, the premier chamber of commerce and industry.
The 5 per cent growth witnessed last year should be seen as a ‘temporary slow down’, he said, adding “the Indian economy grew at an average of 8 per cent per year over the past decade.
“The economic fundamentals which made that possible are still intact. We are confident therefore that we can return to the growth path of 8 per cent.”
The Prime Minister also assured business leaders that India would be taking more steps to attract foreign investments.