Reforms process irreversible: Sinha

The main objective would be to push the economy to a higher growth trajectory of eight to nine per cent, Sinha said adding for this fiscal prudence was needed and that a legislation would be brought-in for fiscal responsibility.

Asserting that there was a consensus among major political parties to carry forward the reform process which was now irreversible, Sinha said the next phase of reform would deal with the more difficult and unfinished tasks of liberalisation process started in 1991.

Stressing his party8217;s commitment to the reform process, Sinha said in the next ten years, the task would be to carry forward public sector reforms and push up savings and foreign direct investment to achieve eight to nine per cent growth which he said was a realistic8217; target.

Sinha praised India8217;s agriculturists, whose record production pushed the growth rate in 1998-99 to six per cent. The NRIs too contributed by subscribing to Resurgent Bonds, which helped in warding off the US-led nuclear sanctions, he said.

India overcame the impact of the economic sanctions despite the fact that the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank were pressurised by the US and its allies to violate their charters by denying development loans.

The invitation to India by the G-7 industrialised nations to be a member of the economically significant G-20, was a logical next step.

It constituted recognition that even now, India8217;s economy, in purchasing power parity terms, is larger than the economies of most G-7 nations, Sinha said.

Usually, Finance Minister of a country in the throes of election is regarded as a lame duck in such Fund-Bank annual meetings. But Sinha was not treated in that fashion mainly because of the recognition, that both these major political parties, Congress and BJP, are committed to economic reforms. Opinion polls showing that the BJP-led coalition is likely to be the victor in the elections, was icing on the cake.