India hopes to attract $125 bn foreign invstmt in infra: FM
India has expressed hope that it would attract 125 billion dollars of foreign investment, particularly in infrastructure.
India has expressed hope that it would attract 125 billion dollars of foreign investment, particularly in infrastructure, to assist the economy in sustaining a high growth rate.
"That is (attracting 125 billion dollars of investment) is entirely within our hands to make it happen," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in a speech at Stanford University on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said earlier this month that the Indian economy needed 320 billion dollars of investment for infrastructure development in the next five years.
Chidambaram said more public investment is needed to keep up the growth rate of 8 per cent a year.
He called for greater public investment in agriculture and said India faces serious problems in the pricing and distribution of electricity.
"This requires a mix of right policies, new initiatives and better governance. It also requires funding the resources to finance such growth without compromising on financial stability and fiscal prudence," he said.
Investment in education and health care, along with productivity gain are among measures needed to maintain the pace of growth, the Finance Minister said.
"We have miles to go before we rest," Chidambaram was quoted as saying in a Bloomberg report.
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