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India spells out economic priorities to Australia

P.S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: Deputy Chairman of the Union Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has identified "further alleviation of poverty" as India's top economic priority for the future.

During a visit to Australia this week, where he delivered a public lecture and interacted with a number of chief executives at the high-end of the corporate sector, Dr. Ahluwalia said India would focus on the "human development" aspects of the social sector and the infrastructure requirements as well.

India's objective was to sustain an eight per cent annual growth rate during the 11th Five-Year Plan.

Dr. Ahluwalia called on Victoria Premier Steve Bracks, among other regional interlocutors. India's High Commissioner to Australia P.P. Shukla participated in the meetings.

Poverty reduction

The objective of Dr. Ahluwalia's quiet economic diplomacy was to present a reality check about the current Indian thinking and trends. He said there was already definite evidence of poverty reduction in the country. He expressed confidence that it would lower this level further even while pursuing the ongoing economic reforms.

In a brief phone-in interview, Dr. Ahluwalia told The Hindu from Sydney that India was "not" pursuing "old-fashioned planning." This aspect was well understood, he said in response to a question whether his Australian interlocutors were curious about the need for planning under India's present policy of economic liberalisation.

He identified the energy sector as a key component for intensifying India-Australia economic interaction. Considerable interest in India's mineral policy was also evinced.

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