New Delhi: RBI (Reserve Bank of India) Governor Y V Reddy has warned that high economic growth will be derailed in the medium term if institutional and infrastructural issues as well as the problem of unemployment are not addressed.

"Immediate prospects for growth with stability are good and are mainly a result of removing structural bottlenecks to growth especially in terms of deregulation and liberalisation. Obviously, that is not enough to continue high growth in the medium term," Reddy wrote in an article published in a 'Souvenir' of Press Council of India.

"For medium term, immediate attention to institutional and infrastructural issues appear to be urgent, and the tasks are essentially in the realm of functioning of Government," he said, stressing on better governance.

The statement assumes importance in the wake of the RBI's pegging down growth projection to 6-6.5 percent for this fiscal, which is lower than Common Minimum Programme (CMP) vision of an average annual growth of 7-8 per cent in next five years.

Although India's performance has been "mixed" in terms of needs and capacities, Reddy said, "We have lagged behind in the social dimension of growth. The current mood of confidence needs to be tempered with realisation of actions overdue in these areas, to sustain the momentum in medium term."

Expressing concern over the unemployment situation, he said, "Indian economy will have to face the challenge of taking advantage of demographic dividend, which, if not adequately managed, could end up as a demographic nightmare, with unemployment and social unrest."