On the occasion of completion of one year of the UPA Government in its second term, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the government's medium term target is to achieve a growth rate of 10 per cent per annum.
"I believe that the mandate of the 2009 elections was a vote for the inclusive agenda of the UPA government that sought to give voice to all sections of the Indian people and to empower them," he said during his opening remarks at the national press conference held in New Delhi.
Singh said the agenda for the UPA's second term seeks to strengthen the pro-people policies and programmes initiated by the government since 2004.
"The social and economic uplift of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women will continue to receive priority attention in our plans. We need a rapidly growing economy to generate productive employment and also resources to finance our ambitious social and economic agenda.
"Our medium term target is to achieve a growth rate of 10 per cent per annum. I am convinced that given our savings and investment rates, this is an achievable target," he said.
Singh said its achievement will require determined efforts to increase investment in social and economic infrastructure, enhance productivity in agriculture and give a fresh impetus to the manufacturing sector.
"The past couple of years have been exceptionally difficult years for the Indian economy. The year 2008 saw a global financial crisis, which threatened to push the world into a recession. We also faced a severe drought in 2009,'' he added.
