Economic growth disparity cause of concern says economist

Mumbai Mar 9 (UNI) India needs to address high fiscal deficit, external sector, infrastructures ,financial sector, widening rural-urban and inter-state disparities, said Dr. Priya Basu, World Bank Economist (Finance and Private Sector) South Asia.

She was speaking here at the 4th H. M. Trivedi Memorial Lecture on ''Accelerating Reforms for Higher Economic Growth', here, yesterday. The programme was organised by the Indian Merchant's Chamber.

Dr.Basu said,''The Post-Independence India is a success story by any standard if we consider the macro picture. However, there are major causes for concern." According to her India's growth was not yet broad-based, but hinged only on a few areas of services such as IT software and IT-Enabled Services, which accounted for over 55 percent of India's GDP. The manufacturing sector was indeed picking up, but could not realize its fill potential for want of infrastructures. But agriculture, which provided employment to a vast majority of people in the country, was growing at a snail's pace, she said.

In the area of infrastructure, private investment was not forthcoming, because there were too many hurdles like unduly long time taken to obtain government clearances, uncertainty and lack of clarity about government policies, and inadequate or lack of regulatory frameworks.

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