Massive investments required to boost growth: Prabhu

India needs investments of a massive scale to accelerate economic growth, which has been hovering at around 6 per cent in the recent quarters, Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, said at the 50th SKOCH Summit held in New Delhi recently.

“India needs investment in a massive scale, because more the investments, more the growth,” Prabhu said at the Plenary Session of the second-day of the SKOCH Summit. He highlighted that the investments must be efficient, as poorly conceived and inefficient investments would not yield desired results.

He said entrepreneurs must be roped in to ensure efficient investments in the areas critical for growth and development of the country. “So we must use the capital in the most efficient manner so that capital-output ratio is efficient. We need entrepreneurs who use the capital in the efficient manner and boost growth,” the Minister added.

Prabhu further added that investments would come from savings. “For investment we need to promote savings. Savings and investments go hand in hand.”

India’s GDP growth was recorded at 6.3 per cent in July-September quarter of the current financial year. Though this was higher than the 5.7 per cent growth registered in the previous quarter, this growth is far below the potential and required of growth to make India $10 trillion economy by 2030.

Economists and policymakers presented a roadmap at the 50th SKOCH Summit for India to be a $10 trillion economy by 2030. For this India needs to post an average annual real GDP growth of 7.6 per cent during this period.

Addressing the Summit, Baijayant Jay Panda, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, said despite recent slowdown India remains one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Referring a slowdown in the growth rate of Chinese economy, Panda said it offered an opportunity for India and the country must leverage its potential to accelerate growth.

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