Growth will eradicate poverty, says Chidambaram

Union Finance Minister P Chidambaran on Friday said that “pro-growth is pro-poor” and growth is a necessary condition to eradicate absolute poverty. Chidambaram said sustained growth in the range of 9 per cent over two decades could wipe out abject poverty.

He said that political challenges involved in the running of a coalition would not derail reforms, but could delay it a bit. “We are holding back some bills for further consultation, but everything will get done. In 1991, when reforms started, every move was opposed by one section or the other. But then everyone comes around. It is about working the coalition,” he said at the HT Leadership Summit. The Finance Minister said around 50 SEZs were likely to lose their approvals because of reasons such as inability to find land. He said the proliferation of SEZs would create a huge hole in the Government revenue. “Ideally, we should have six to 10 large SEZs,” he said.