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Journalism of Courage
A 6.5-7 per cent economic growth for India this fiscal is a possibility and would be a good performance going by the adverse global conditions,Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said today.
“.. with a bit of luck,we can meet the growth somewhere between 6.5-7 per cent,which would be a very good performance in a situation where the whole global economy is badly hit,” he said.
Ahluwalia was speaking during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER) here.
He said initially the GDP growth was expected to be around 7-7.5 per cent for current fiscal,when the budget was being finalised.
“But I think the growth rate has slowed down,not only in India,but everywhere. I don’t expect that kind of growth this year”,Ahluwalia said.
On monsoon,he said: “It is true that the monsoon is weak so far..delay in monsoon does not by itself mean that it will not recover. A lot depends on what happens in the next three months,I would not reach any adverse conclusion from what you have seen so far”.
The cumulative rainfall in the month of June had been about 30 per cent lower than normal.
Even global financial services major,Citigroup,has expressed fear that Indian economy could see a slower growth at 5.6-6 per cent during the current fiscal if monsoon remains poor.
Ahluwalia also said there was a dire need to increase government spending on health care.
“The government (both Centre and States) should be playing an active role in the health sector..we cannot leave health to the mercy of the markets.
“Government has an important role to play and we are doing what should be done to give a boost to the health sector,” Ahluwalia said.
He said as against USA,which inspite of the economic downturn,continues to spend over 15 per cent of the GDP on health,in India the spending on health sector is just four per cent of GDP.
This includes a three per cent contribution from the private sector and one per cent government contribution,he said.
The 12th Plan will see the largest growth in government expenditure in this sector,he said here.
He,however,pointed out that merely increasing the outlay would not serve the purpose.
Ahluwalia said the problem of human resource,both at the level of doctors as well the nurses,should be addressed.
He said there was large regional variation in the medical facilities available in the country with North India lagging behind South India.
This was possibly due to much greater presence of private medical colleges in the South,he added.
