Manmohan for sustained economic growth

New Delhi, Dec 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said that India"s policy would be to ensure nine percent growth even if world growth slows down and fuel prices continue to remain under pressure. He was addressing a panel of the Trade and Industry Council here today.

"While India must remain alert to trends in the global economy, we must also recognise that the world is looking at India as a new engine of growth. If our economy continues to grow despite a global slow down, we will be able to lift millions of our people from poverty and generate employment for our youth," he said.

Drawing attention towards the 11th Plan's strategy of giving special attention to education, Singh said that expenditure on education is being increased from seven per cent of total plan outlay in the 10th Plan to 19 per cent in the 11th Plan.

Appealing industry captains to come forward with new ideas on education, he said: "We must not become slaves of the past. We need creative thinking and fresh thinking to address the challenges we face in education."

Participants also gave their views on the domestic price situation, drawing attention to global trends in fuel and food prices.

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Ratan Tata, Keshub Mahindra, Mukesh Ambani, R.P. Goenka, Jemshed Godrej, N.R. Narayanamurthy, Rahul Bajaj, Anji Reddy, Sunil Mittal, Sunil Munjal and Deepak Parekh.

ANI>