10 GDP growth impossible: Montek

Montek Singh Ahluwalia says PlanCom is targetting a 9-to-9.5 average economic expansion.

Raising doubts over feasibility of achieving 10 per cent average economic expansion in India in the 12th Plan 2012-17,Plan Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said the next plan would target GDP growth of 9-to-9.5 per cent in the next five years.

8220;If you ask me personally,I think setting target of 10 per cent GDP growth as an average for 12th Plan,is not feasible8230;it would be somewhere between 9 to 9.5 in next Plan period,8221; he told reporters ahead of the meeting of the full Planning Commission.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wants the Commission to aim at higher growth target for 10 per cent during the 12th Plan,as against 8.2 per cent estimated in the current plan.

8220;Our assessment is that the international situation is full of uncertainty8230;I feel that if we are looking at a five year period 2012-17,we can do much better than we did in 11th Plan. I don8217;t think that there should be much difficulty setting a target of 9 per cent,8221; he said.

A major area of focus would be on increasing agricultural productivity,he added.

8220;In the 10th Plan it agricultural growth was around 2 per cent,in the 11th Plan it looks as if it will be 3 per cent8230;it won8217;t be 4 per cent that we had targeted. My view would be that in the 12th Plan we must make sure that we can get to 4 per cent,8221; Ahluwalia said.

Briefing the media persons on focus of the full Planning Commission meeting tomorrow to be headed by the Prime Minister,Ahluwalia said,8221;We would be presenting key issues to the full panel and the approach to the 12th Plan may be ready in a month from now8221;.

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Among others,the meeting will be attended by Planning Commission members and senior Cabinet ministers,including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram.

8220;What we are presenting tomorrow is not the 12th Plan approach. We are actually working on that8230;The Approach Paper should be in a month or so,8221; Ahluwalia said.

The 8216;Approach8217; paper lays broad outline of a Five Year Plan.

About the thrust of the 12th Plan,he said,8221;One thing we have all agreed internally at Plan panel is that it thrust of 12th Plan will be faster,more inclusive and sustainable growth8221;.

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He also said that special thrust will be on achieving more progress in health and education,besides improving the gender ratio.

Regarding the progress of the 11th Plan,he said,8221;The bottom line is that we have seen progress but not enough8221;.

Although the Commission had pegged the economic growth rate at 9 per cent for the 11th Plan 2007-12,it was scaled down to 8.2 per cent in view of the impact of the global financial meltdown on the Indian economy.