Dr C Rangarajan,Chairman,Prime Minister's Economics Advisory Council,today said here that if the Indian economy grows at nine percent per annum for the next decade,the country can join the 'middle-income' club. Rangarajan addressed first convocation of IIT Hyderabad at its current campus near here. "Indian economy is currently passing through a difficult phase. Growth has slowed and inflation remains high. Fiscal and current account deficits also stand at high level. These issues need to be addressed,if we have to achieve a sustained high growth rate," he said. "If India grows at 9 percent,then our per capita GDP will increase from current level of USD 1,600 to about USD 10,000 by 2025. Only then we can become part of the middle income group countries," Rangarajan added. Striking an optimistic note,he said that current slow-down should not cloud the fact that the country grew at an average rate of 8.3 percent in the last seven years. The country should evolve "a framework which encourages innovation and diffusion",he said,adding that this will require action on several fronts. "There has to be a close association between these (technology) institutions and industry. The silicon valley (of USA) grew out of Stanford Industrial Park which was set up by Stanford University. Can our institutions of higher learning do something similar? It is not enough to churn out excellent engineering graduates..the test of success should also be measured by the emergence of new start-ups," he said.
