Washington: Though India's recent growth rate has been universally admired, without more international assistance and for longer periods, the country will be unable to reach most Millennium Development Goals, Finance Secretary D C Gupta said today (Apr 25, 2004). "The South Asia region, and particularly the countries in our constituency (the Indian Executive Director also represents Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan) are on track to meet the goal of income poverty," Gupta told the development committee of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

"But in various social indicators, like universal primary education, infant and maternal mortality, and gender gap, will require a step-up in efforts.

"It is, therefore, necessary at this juncture for the international community to take stock of the situation in terms of achievements and shortfalls, and of the performance of the three parties to the Monterrey Compact developing countries, developed countries and the international financial institutions," Gupta said.

The Global Monitoring Report, he said, "Rightly highlights the wholly inadequate levels of global flows of Official Development Assistance (ODA) as a critical constraint that impedes performance in achieving the Millennium Development Goals."

Most conservative estimates, he pointed out, are that as much as an incremental $30 billion in ODA can be effectively utilised by developing countries annually even today, "and far more, say $50 billion, as capacity develops".