Bangalore, Jul 10 (IANS): India would soon return to high growth path soon in light of several measures being taken by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to reboot the economy battered by external and internal factors, Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram said Tuesday.
"We are confident that the measures being taken and will be taken will enable us to get out of the hostile turf and return to the high growth path soon once the Eurozone crisis gets over," Chidambaram, a former finance minister, told reporters here.
Giving a report card on the performance of the second UPA government in the past three years, Chidambaram said despite a challenging year when developed countries the world over registered zero or no growth in 2011-12, India registered 6.8 percent GDP growth.
"It was a difficult year when we have faced a number of challenges due to various international and domestic factors. Headline inflation continued to be high, so also fiscal deficit and revenue deficit. Attracting investments from overseas was also a challenge," he recalled.
Noting that the Eurozone crisis was deeper than the 2008 global financial crisis, Chidambaram said though the country registered a healthy GDP growth of 8.4 percent during the first two years (fiscal 2009-10 and 2010-11) of the UPA-II, it dipped to 6.8 percent in fiscal 2010-11 owing to international and domestic pressures resulting in lower capital inflows, sluggish exports, high import bill, widening current account deficit and volatile exchange rate.
"Compared to other countries, India continues to be a high investment destination, as a whopping $46.55 billion of foreign direct investment in 2011-12. We also continue to be a major overseas investor after the US, Britain, Canada, Germany and France. Exports contributed 22 percent to the GDP in 2011-12 from a mere 5.3 percent over a decade ago," Chidambaram pointed out.
Reeling out comparative statistics and achievements of the UPA government since 2009, Chidambaram said millions of people across the social strata benefited from the schemes, programmes, subsidies and financial assistance provided year after year.
"Across the board spanning, education, health, agriculture, industry and basic and social infrastructure, the country has done remarkably well to improve the lot of farmers, weaker sections, rural and urban people despite resource constraints and challenging environment," Chidamabram asserted.