India PM Manmohan Singh urges economic investment boost

Indian PM Manmohan Singh has said urgent steps must be taken to boost the country’s ailing economy.
In a speech marking Independence Day, Mr Singh said the time had come to view growth as a matter of national security, and urged politicians to reach consensus on economic issues.
He promised to make it easier for foreign companies to invest in India.

India’s economy expanded at an annual rate of 5.3% in the first quarter – the slowest pace in nine years.
There are fears that growth may slow further in the near term amid increased global volatility.

But in his televised speech from the historic Red Fort in Delhi, Mr Singh said he expected growth this fiscal year to be “a little better” that last year’s 6.5% – an estimation higher than recent projections of 5.5%. He said India “cannot do much about the conditions that prevail outside our country… But we must make every effort to resolve the problems inside our country so that our economic growth (is)… again speeded up”.

The Indian government would “leave no stone unturned to encourage investment”, he said.
“To attract foreign capital, we will have to create confidence at the international level that there are no barriers to investment in India.”
Foreign companies wishing to invest in India have frequently complained of being held back by red tape and corruption.
Mr Singh said a domestic environment also needed to be created to ensure rapid growth and shield the economy from the global slowdown.

“We are not being able to achieve [the environment]… because of a lack of political consensus on many issues. Time has now come to view the issues which affect our development process as matters of national security.” Mr Singh said the government had taken measures to improve infrastructure, and deal with a deficient summer monsoon, which had led to drought like conditions in some states.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk