The Hindu : Economy stronger now: Jaswant

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 25, 2004

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Economy stronger now: Jaswant

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, FEB. 24. The Union Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, today claimed that the country's micro economic fundamentals had never been so strong as it was at present. "The economy is stronger than ever before in the past 50 years and the impact is visible in industry, agriculture and the service sector,'' he said.

The country's gross domestic product (GDP) recorded a growth of 8.9 per cent in the third quarter while the inflation rate would be between 4 and 4.5 per cent, Mr. Singh said. He was in the city to launch the "Atal Sandesh Yatra.''

Harping mostly on the theme of "feel good'', Mr. Singh reeled out figures to bring in the sense of well being among the countrymen on the eve of the elections to the Lok Sabha. While responding to a query on the impact of leak of nuclear weapons know-how from Pakistan, he brought in the aspect of India's "excellent nuclear safety standards''.

"It is now internationally recognized that India's record in ensuring the principles of nuclear safeguards is exceptional,'' Mr.Singh noted.

On another occasion, responding to a question on external borrowings by the States, Mr.Singh seized the chance to announce that the country was moving towards the target of achieving zero borrowings. As such the borrowings by the States were with the knowledge and sanction of the Union Finance Ministry, he pointed out.

There was reason to be happy about the country's population as India was the "youngest'' country in the world. "One of the great strengths of India is the age of its people. Going by the age of the citizens we are the youngest country in the world. We have a tremendous advantage in this,'' he said while citing the case of Germany which had a population of 70 per cent elderly people.

In the context of the Thar desert, Mr.Singh mentioned the cattle wealth the country had and reminded the country's status as the biggest producer of milk in the world. India again had the largest area under irrigated arable land and was the biggest manufacturer of mass raw sugar, he noted.

Asked about his Government's claims on employment generation, specially in the context of over 40,000 youth turning up in the outskirts of the City here the other day for recruitment of 82 constables for CRPF, Mr.Singh asserted that the job opportunities were growing. However, unfortunately the common man's perception of jobs in the past 50 years had been only the Government jobs, he noted.

Citing a recent report in a journal on business management published from London, Mr.Singh said additional 17 billion jobs were being created in the country. "It is unfortunate that the youth still hanker for government jobs,'' he said.

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