Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday confessed to constraints in speeding up reforms during the remaining period of the United Progressive Alliance regime and said that the nation cannot afford to engage in 'meaningless controversies' at the cost of the economy.

"I would not be honest if I were not to confess that there are constraints in our ability to move fast and fast enough" he said, adding that, "though politics is the art of possible, there are limitations on executing reforms during the remaining 18 months of the government.

Addressing the 'HT Summit -- the India that can be', Dr Singh said, "We cannot assume that the country and the economy will move forward on their own, while we dissipate our energies in meaningless controversies."

"If all our time and energy is spent battling the ghosts of the past, how can we hope to do the day's work efficiently? And I dare say, there is a lot of work to be done," he said.

He cautioned against taking for granted the 'unprecedented' growth of close to nine per cent in the past five years and said, "There are no magic ways to increase employment".

"I am fully aware of the dictum that in politics one must survive short-term battles to attain long-term objectives. However, we need to work with an eye on long-term objectives while meeting day-to-day challenges," the prime minister said.

"There is a vast unfinished agenda of development and reforms that awaits us. We cannot rest on our laurels or take our successes for granted....we cannot assume that the country and economy will move forward on their own," he said.

Singh said that the nation has to find meaningful solutions to the problem of poverty and the country needed to sustain the growth momentum to ensure that more employment opportunities are created.

"I am particularly concerned about rural development and education. These will remain our key focus areas for a long time," he said emphasising that the development gap between rural and urban areas needed to be reduced.