April 5: India can achieve an economic growth of 6 per cent riding on the knowledge-based industries like information technology, said member of Parliament and chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Murli Deora.
Addressing a meeting organised by the Asia Society in New York, he said that given India’s vast pool of talent and the slow recognition by global leaders of India’s intellectual capital reserves this is likely to gross substantial foreign exchange earnings for the country.
The first phase of the reform process was initiated and visioned by Dr Manmohan Singh and the Congress government, but more importantly it has achieved a national consensus as can be seen from the continuing reforms introduced by successive finance ministers, Deora said.
He said India is on the verge of opening up its insurance sector which has attracted tremendous interest from both domestic and international participants. It is likely to channelise the domestic savings into the much-needed investment into core infrastructure sectors, he added.
Deora added that a domestic savings rate of 24 per cent will provide capital for investment process. Besides, he said, a pragmatic monetary policy aimed at reducing real interest rates will encourage investments.
Some of the major reforms which can be expected in the years to come would be curtailing revenue expenditure, downsizing government, sale of public sector units and development of infrastructure to create conducive environment for growth.
Deora said that focus will also be to reduce subsidies and reforms of land laws.