World Bank says India has potential for 8 % GDP growth
By agencies   |   Thursday, 07 April 2005, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that 8 percent growth was not possible in the 10th Plan, World Bank today maintained such a high growth was possible with faster reforms. "India's growth rate underlines a trend of 5-6 percent. The potential is up to 8 percent," World Bank Country Director Michael Carter said. "We are not yet at the potential growth rate. But the underline growth rate has just started accelerating," he said. However, the country faces the greatest challenge in uplifting 300 million people from poverty, he warned. Carter also said poverty was concentrated in some of the states like Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand, where implementation of social sector policies were "weak". While appreciating the success of government in reducing poverty from 50 percent during Independence to less than 30 percent, he said "India is visibly a different country and a richer country now." The liberalization drove the change in the economy with the emergence of high growing export, service and automobiles sectors, he said, adding "India can be a major player in a competitive global environment." To attain high growth, Carter listed out the priority areas -- greater private investments, improvement of infrastructure and fiscal consolidation. On the growing trend of bilateral free-trade agreements including the proposal to move towards India-China trade pact, Carter said, "growth in trade between India and China has been remarkable. But multilateral route through WTO is better than bilateral."

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