India would require $150 billion from the private sector for generating 1,40,000 mw of power within the next few years, commerce minister B B Ramaiah said yesterday.
Speaking at the Indo-US commercial alliance meet here organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ramaiah said the United Front government had taken several initiatives to facilitate private investment in the power sector.
The commerce minister said that irrespective of the party that comes to power after the Lok Sabha elections, the economic reform process was irreversible and was here to stay.
The minister said the economic fundamentals of the economy were strong, with the inflation rate under four per cent and growing forex reserves.
He said the country could sustain an annual growth of 7 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth and accelerate it further if the flow of investments continued and the infrastructure was strengthened.
Ramaiah said the government had targeted $10 billion worth of foreign direct investment annually within the next few years for coping with the growth rate.
