Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (Sp)
Udupi, Nov 4: Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, predicted that the world will tide over the economic downslide it has been experiencing since the last few years by the next year, and the world in general and India in particular will register a meteoric rise.
He was peaking after inaugurating the newly opened Knowledge Centre at T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal, on Tuesday November 3. “In spite of the debilitating economic crisis, India has registered a progress that has been far better than most of the other countries. For the nation to achieve faster progress, its financial sector needs to undergo multi-dimensional transformation,” he opined.
The sectors like airports, drinking water, handling of garbage and effluents, roads etc., will need heavy investments. Urbanization has picked up pace in the recent past, and in the next two decades, this sector will witness further boost. As 30% of the country’s population lives in urban centres, basic amenities and infrastructure in these centres will have to get added attention. Both the union government and the state governments will need to provide additional financial assistance to local administrations to enable to face this challenge, he stressed.
Ahluwalia expressed serious concern over the fact that the gross domestic product (GDP) from the agricultural sector forms less than 20% of the national GDP, even though over 50% of the population is involved with farming activity. The GDP of agricultural sector has not been able to grow above 4% per annum, while other sectors together register 7.5% annual growth. This indicates that provision of additional finances and implementing of new technology is the need of the hour for the agricultural sector. In order to offset the GDP imbalance, the agriculturists also need to involve with other income generating activities, Montek advised.
The Planning Commission deputy chairman held himself strongly in favour of inclusive finance for the agriculturists from the banking sector, rather than extending subsidy to them. He felt that foreign direct investment should be allowed, and the country should show the willingness to undertake newer researches and show the willingness to take additional risks, if it is determined to achieve a GDP of 9%. He opined that the western countries faced economic crisis, as they did not manage these things properly.
Dr Isher Judge Ahluwalia, president of the Indian Council for Research on International Econmic Relations, inaugurated the library of Knowledge Centre and released its research bulletin.
TAPMI governing council president, Dr Ramadas Pai, retraced the development history of Manipal. TAPMI managing trustee, Dr H S Ballal, was present.