India grew at 9% with same policies: Montek to investors

New York, May 20: Dismissing concerns about policy paralysis in the Indian government,

Deputy Chairman

has said the country has grown in the past at over 9 per cent with the same set of policies.

"...the economy grew by 9 per cent for five years with the existing laws. It is not as if unless we change something that growth rate cannot happen. I am not saying we should not change. We should change", he told PTI when asked whether policy paralysis at home was impacting investment and growth.

Pointing out that reforms are important, Ahluwalia said, "To get a short run improvement in functioning of the economy and to reassure investors you do not necessarily have to focus on change in laws".

He further said that in a coalition government very often the issues get delayed, but there was a lot that the government could do on the issues which did not require legal action. "We should concentrate on that...the government has a very active agenda of trying to get that done" he added.

Ahluwalia said he has also informed investors that their perception that India was not interested in making the country an attractive destination for investment was not "valid."

"...I have explained to them (investors) that their fear that the government of India may not be interested in creating an attractive investment environment is not actually valid," he said. One of the major positives, Ahluwalia added, "is clearly that India has a growth potential of 8-9 per cent. We are not just whistling in the dark, we did it (achieved high growth rates). If we did it for five years why cannot we do it now."