9.5% growth feasible, but agriculture must improve: Montek

New Delhi, Aug 19 (UNI) Even while soft pedalling on labour reforms and permitting FDI in retail, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia says that a growth of 9.5 per cent was feasible in the Eleventh Plan (2007-11), which requires supportive reform measures.

Dr Ahluwalia, however, has emphasised the importance of high growth in agriculture for maintaining such a growth momentum and called for de-nationalisation of the coal industry for higher level of efficiencies.

The Plan Panel Deputy Head said he has 'absolutely no doubt' that India 'can achieve 9.5 per cent' growth and added that this was 'a key target' of the next Plan, on which the Commission is working at present.

In an interview to the CNN-IBN programme 'Devil's Advocate,' to be broadcast tomorrow, Dr Ahluwalia spoke of the critical need for economic reforms to gurantee this performance.

''It is not going to happen automatically. We are on a very good wicket. The average growth rate is over 7 per cent. But to get from that to 8.5 per cent is not just a matter of coasting along. We have to do far more.'' However, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission sounded a note of caution on the issue of labour law reforms. Whilst making clear that the Approach Paper for the Eleventh Five Year Plan was in favour of labour law reforms, he added that a hire and fire policy was ruled out.

The Government has made it very plain that this was not an issue on which it was going to adopt top-down decision making. It needs to discuss this with the trade unions.

''The main point we are making is that in short of hire and fire there are a lot of things that can be done.'' While elaborating on his views to the issue of labour law reforms, Dr Ahluwalia spelt out his general approach to economic reforms.

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