Farm sector growth to touch 3.5% during 11th Plan: Montek

Hindu Business Line - Hyderabad, Oct. 18: 

Contrary to certain views that growth in the Indian agriculture sector has stagnated, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, said the Commission expected growth in this sector to touch 3.5 per cent during the Eleventh Plan Period, as against 2 per cent in the previous Plan Period.

“Latest figures show that monsoons were good in the current year and even marginally above normal. So there has been no stagnation in the farm sector and, instead, there has been an improvement,” Mr Ahluwalia told media persons on the sidelines of the 17th convocation at Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management, here on Tuesday.

He said the Planning Commission was targeting a higher growth rate of 4 per cent in this sector during the 12th Plan Period.

On rising coal prices, he said during the next Plan Period, energy costs will be higher. “India will have to continue to import coal at higher prices. You cannot fight higher energy prices. And the sooner we adjust ourselves to this (high energy cost regime) it is better,” he said.

He was, however, confident that the Planning Commission target of adding 100,000 MW of power generation capacity during the 12th Plan Period. “We did fall short of the target during the 11{+t}{+h} Plan, as when we began we were low on start ups. But, when we enter the 12th Plan, we will have projects of 50,000 to 60,000 MW in the pipeline,” he pointed out.

On inflation, he said it was high on a year-on-year basis, but expected it to cool down from November and come down significantly next fiscal.