New Govt. will need to revive investments within 3 months: Montek

montek-singh-ahluwaliaNew government will likely not be able to get Indian economy back to high growth unless it revives investments and push large infrastructure projects within three months of being elected, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Speaking on the sidelines of a CII conference titled "Reviving Investments: Imperatives of Project Clearance," Mr. Ahluwalia stressed that new government must take on the fact that almost all infrastructure projects in important areas have got stuck.

Speaking on the topic, he warned, "In my view, if these problems are not solved within the first three months, you can forget about getting back to high (economic) growth."

He also stressed on the need for continued policy actions to ensure fast clearances of infrastructure projects. He added that apart from addressing the regulatory aspects impacting large projects, there was also need to address the financing issues to ensure faster take off of the cleared projects.

While the government aims to achieve an annual average economic growth of 8 per cent in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), the economy could grow at a rate of just 4.5 per cent in the financial year 2012-13. It was the lowest rate of economic growth in as many as ten years.

As per estimates by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the economy will grow at a rate of 4.9 per cent during the current financial year, which is far lower than the target of 8 per cent.