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Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Tuesday said the government is formulating a strategy to double the growth in agriculture and called for sweeping reforms in education and health to make the surging economic growth truly inclusive.

"For a long time, inclusive growth was taken to be poverty alleviation. Today, more than poverty alleviation, inclusiveness goes beyond to the perception of everyone feeling that they are getting a share of the action and getting upward social and economic mobility," he said after giving away the Business Standard Awards at a glittering function attended by a galaxy of business leaders in Mumbai.

The reforms in higher education and health should be similar, he said, to what happened in industry 16 years ago.

Ahluwalia said the concerns of overheating of the economy are valid, especially against the backdrop of the rising inflation a few weeks ago. However, with the inflation coming down in the recent weeks, the real worries are over.

He pointed out how the GDP growth is no longer a concern; the current debate is confined to whether it will grow at over 9 per cent, or, he said in a lighter vein, at "as low as 8.5 per cent".

On the downside, Ahluwalia pointed out that, in spite of the achievements of software companies, the skill shortage has to be recognised as a major crisis situation. "This is where reforms in the higher education sector have to play a major role," he said.

According to him, the government has recognised that infrastructure is the single most important lever to keep the growth momentum high, and expressed happiness that the concerns are shared by the chief ministers of various states.

"Traditionally, we tend to think that policy issues are discussed at the national level, but at the state level, there is a large degree of freedom to influence the levers of agriculture, infrastructure, and other social sectors," said Ahluwalia.

He exhorted Indian industry to support the fundamental growth pillars of Indian economy in order to sustain growth. "While we do our bit to raise consciousness, industry needs to lend its support," he said.

Earlier T Thomas, the chairman of Business Standard Ltd, said India is lucky to have, in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Ahluwalia, two eminent non-political economists steering its policy framework.

The CEO of the Year award was given to Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Mittal for being at the forefront of India's phenomenal telecom growth. Receiving the award, Mittal said one can reasonably expect to be declared the entrepreneur of the year when one grows from a $5 million company to a $5 billion company in 10 years.

However, he said, it was a proud moment for someone in Bharti to be recognised as the CEO of the year. He said he was glad he got it now, for, having moved on from being the CEO with effect from April this year, this was his last chance of winning the award.

K V Kamath, the CEO and MD of ICICI Bank, who received the Banker of the Year award for transforming ICICI bank into a retail juggernaut, thanked Team ICICI for its efforts.

The award for the Equity Fund Manager of the Year was won by Anup Bhasker, a former fund manager at Sundaram BNP Paribas and now the head of equities at UTI Mutual, while the honour of the Debt Fund Manager of the Year went to Ritesh Jain, head of fixed income at Kotak Mutual.

Bharat Heavy Electricals won the Star PSU of the Year award, Parsvnath Developers was declared the Star Unlisted Company (the company was listed in November 2006), Siemens India won the Star MNC award and Manugraph India won the Star SME. The Most Innovative Company of the Year award was given to Moser Baer.

Chevrolet Aveo U-VA won the BS Motoring Car of the Year award and Hero Honda CBZ X treme was chosen the BS Motoring Bike of the Year.