Reforms must for high growth, jobs: Finance Minister

A week after kicking off big ticket reforms the UPA II on Monday warned that without economic reforms there will be no jobs and restoring high growth.

This position was asserted by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday while inagurating the Economic Editors’ Conference here in Shastri Bhavan.

“Without reforms, we risk a sharp and continuing slowdown of the economy which we cannot afford given the imperative needed to generate jobs and incomes for a large population, most of whom are young,” Chidambaram asserted.

Calling on the media to communicate economic story to India and the world, Finance Minister said there was a need to banish irrational fears.

“The India growth story is sound and the reform momentum will remain strong and unabted. We should shed self doubt. We should banish irrational fears. We should embrace the future with the confidence. We should believe that we have the capacity to overcome any crisis, as we did in 1991, 1997 and 2008,” he added.

Pointing out the controversy over FDI in retail is unnecessary and unjustified, Finance Minister recalled that the first comprehensive cabinet paper in FDI in retail was prepared by the NDA government in 2002.

“So, where should there be a controversy when the government announced its intention to lay down guidelines in order to enable FDI in retail?” asked Finance Minister adding that, “there should be no controversy over reform in the coal, mining, power, petroleum and natural gas and infrastructure sector including roads, railways and shipping as these sector are the drivers of growth.”

Chidambaram also stressed on the need to augment saving and channelise it into investments.

“Our foremost task is to augment savings, and then challennelise those savings into investments," he said, assuring every possible step to put the Indian economy back on the high growth path.

"India's growth story remains strong." Chidambaram said India fared better than the global economy, which saw the growth drop from 5.3% in 2010 to 3.9% and 3.5% during the next two years. The advanced economies also logged a growth 3.2%, 1.6% and 1.4%.

"India was not immune," he said, adding: "It will do well to remember that out of eight years it is only during two years -- 2008-09 and 2011 11-12 -- our economy grew at less that 7%."

The UPA government is expecting more growth in economy in the backdrop of recent economic reforms.

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