Thursday, April 21 2005 12:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: India is poised to achieve an annual growth of around eight per cent in the near future even as it grapples with the challenges posed by globalisation, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said.

"India is getting better day by day. There is huge amount of optimism about India. I have no doubt that the country is well positioned to accelerate from its present 6.5 per cent growth to around 8 per cent in the near future," he said delivering the 27th Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture on 'India in a Globalising World,' at the Chatham House in London last night (Apr 20, 2005).

"India's growth record during the period of globalisation has been much better than it was in the 1960s and 1970s, when economic growth slowed down to 3.5 per cent per year. Growth accelerated to around 5.7 per cent per year in the 1980s and 1990s and the economy is currently growing at about 6.5 per cent," he said.

"The present Government has targeted a growth rate of between 7 and 8 per cent for the near future. Since population growth has slowed down from 2 per cent prior to 1990 to around 1.6 per cent at present, the acceleration in the growth of per capita incomes is obviously much better," Ahluwalia said.

The Planning Commission Deputy Chairman said India could emerge within ten years as an economy well on the way to achieving middle-income status with a much broader middle class directly linked to the benefit of growth than is the case today.

"In Nehru's memorable phrase, we will have brought about India's second tryst with destiny," he said.