Agra, Jan 28 : Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Monday said that "sustaining a high growth for a country like India is not an optional choice for us but a social imperative as only through sustained economic growth will we be able to lift millions out of poverty net."

Addressing a session on "The Large Emerging Economies: New Growth Hubs of World" in ''The Partnership Summit 2013'' here, Sharma said that despite the economic challenges being faced by nations world over, the emerging market economies have registered significant gains based on liberal economic reforms pursued over the last two decades.

He further said that these emerging market economies would now have to address "the fundamental structural issues which face their economies and usher in the next phase of economic reform."

"The Government has established a Cabinet Committee on Investments headed by the Prime Minister himself which will not only fast track high value investment projects but also help in cutting down delays for regulatory clearances," he added.

Sharma also acknowledged the "inherent advantages" of the emerging economies by stating that these have given them strength and resilience to withstand the external shocks.

Citing the advantages, Sharma said that the emerging market economies have a fast expanding middleclass, which is buoyed, by the rising income levels. Along with this, these economies are also becoming hubs of low cost or "frugal innovation".

"As companies and governments enhance R&D expenditures, we will see emerging economies becoming even more competitive as technology providers," he added.

Asserting that the emerging economies are also set to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend, Sharma said that these emerging economies are also a source of rich human resource.

"India is home to one of the largest scientific manpower in the world with over 12 million engineers and doctors and an equal number of post-graduates in science and mathematics and we annually add 2 million graduates,
700,000 post-graduates and 300,000 engineers," he added.

Sharma, however, said that these emerging market economies have huge infrastructure deficiencies, which needs serious attention to be paid into.

"This presents an opportunity for even greater private investment flows - both domestic and foreign - which will continue to catalyse growth. In India alone, we are going to spend USD One trillion on infrastructure building over the next five years, half of which will come from private sector," he added. (ANI)