Govt committed to eliminate poverty: FM

Finance minister P Chidambaram today said the government is committed to deepening reforms to put the country on a high growth path of 8-10%, which is needed to eliminate poverty.

"We are aware of the challenges before us. It will be our constant endeavour to address these challenges by deepening the reforms and put the country on a trend growth rate of 8-10% for eliminating poverty," Chidambaram  told a business session at Asian Development Bank (ADB) annual meeting.

"India has achieved an average growth rate of nearly 8% in the last three years that is a robust demonstration of its nascent strengths. As the country moves to a higher growth plan, there is a need to supplement  domestic resources with foreign investments," he said.

Our economic reforms over the last 15 years, the role played by the private sector and the rising domestic consumption had been the drivers of this growth, he said.

Stating that the investment rate in the country was around 30% of the GDP with a major chunk of it being funded by domestic savings, Chidambaram sought more foreign investments to take the country on a higher growth trajectory.