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Tenth Plan growth target realistic: N K Singh

The Tenth Plan target of achieving eight per cent GDP growth during 2002-07 though challenging, is realistic Planning Commission member N K Singh said on Friday.

Addressing the National Executive Council meeting of FICCI in Kolkata, Singh said if the country failed to meet the GDP growth target during the Tenth Plan period, then every one per cent fall would result in unemployment of 25 million people.

The next meeting of the National Development Council on December 21, he said, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, would approve the Tenth Plan policy document.

According to Singh ingredients for eight per cent GDP growth were low inflation, stable rupee and high foreign exchange reserves.

The Planning Commission member said the Tenth Plan document had focussed on areas where there could be sizeable improvements in incremental capital-output ratio.

On the controversial issue of divestment, Singh said privatisation had always been a contentious matter, adding that it should be carried out after reaching a consensus.

He also said that privatisation could not be equated with economic reforms.

Urging the chambers of commerce to persuade the government to enact important economic legislations pending in Parliament, Singh said that if these were enacted, there would be a significant change in the quality and atmosphere of economic reforms.

The important economic legislations, which were pending in the Parliament were Coal De-nationalisation Bill, Banking Regulation Amendment Bill, Corporatisation of Ports Bill and Electricity Deregulation Bill.

Singh said that another area where the government should take immediate action was agriculture, adding that deregulation of the sector was important.

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