India facing slowdown in growth due to lack of political consensus, says PM on Independence Day

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in his Independence Day address said that the political parties in India need to develop consensus to strengthen economic growth and also pledged that steps will be taken in this regard. India is presently facing the heat of policy paralysis.

Singh further said that UPA government is committed to help the sagging economy from the effect of global economic meltdown. PM also said that the country's national security will be impacted if initiatives are not taken to raise economic growth and also investment level.

He was addressing the country from the ramparts of the Red Fort. The global economic meltdown, which is going through a difficult phase, has impacted the world's largest democracy in a big way.

While speaking about the GDP, he said, “There have been domestic developments which are hindering our economic growth. Last year our GDP grew by 6.5 per cent. This year we hope to do a little better. we must make every effort to resolve the problems inside our country so that our economic growth and creation of employment opportunities are again speeded up.”

Poor monsoon already pose as serious threat to the country's lagging economy and it is the need of the hour that inflation is controlled. The wholesale inflation has slipped to 6.87% during July, prices of food items are still going up by more than 10% annually.
The 79-year-old economist also invited the foreign investors to strengthen their presence in India.