P. Chidambaram inaugurates Economic Editors' Conference

08 Nov '06

3 min read

Following is the text of the statement delivered by the Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram while inaugurating the two-day Economic Editors' Conference, 2006:

I am happy to welcome all the participants at this year's Economic Editors' Conference. This Conference has evolved into an important forum for meaningful interface between various departments of the Central government and the media.

It offers us an opportunity to take stock of the economic performance, assess the outlook and review the existing policies. I hope that the next two days will witness reasoned deliberations and a rich exchange of ideas.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government has been in office for nearly 30 months. We can look back at this period with considerable satisfaction. Our economic prospects have brightened. Given the state of economic fundamentals, we are optimistic of the outlook becoming brighter in the near and the medium term.

Growth Performance and Prospects
The Indian economy has continued to sustain its growth momentum with the first quarter growth in the current year being a robust 8.9 per cent. While long term growth during 1998-2004 averaged 5.9 per cent, the most recent three years (2003-2006) witnessed an average growth of over 8 per cent. Inflation during this period remained moderate and inflationary expectations were generally contained. Average long-term inflation in the last decade was a moderate 4.9 per cent.

There hasbeen a virtuous and structural shift in the economy with services sector improving its share in GDP from 41 per cent in 1990-91 to 54 per cent in 2005-06. The share of agriculture in GDP declined from 32 per cent in 1990-91 to under 20 per cent in 2005-06.

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