News: 'India must aim for higher economic performance'

(PTI 07/02/2007) New Delhi - Buoyed by the over nine per cent GDP growth in 2006-07, the Planning Commission today said country must aim for higher economic performance, while acknowledging that agriculture continues to remain an area of concern.

"We have been saying that economy is on an upswing. We had nine per cent growth in two years and the average growth in the 10th Plan is 7.3 per cent and we could think of aiming for better growth in the coming plan," Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters here.

He said the country witnessed a better agriculture growth of 2.7 per cent as revealed in the estimates, but suggested that more efforts were required in the sector.

He said inflation has been factored in the estimates revealed by the CSO, but more data in health, education and employment sectors were needed before it could be termed as an inclusive growth.

He said the growth in the unorganised labour sector was a matter of concern as there was no clear data to gauge its dimensions. "We need to have data on factors propelling the growth in unorganised labour sector," he said