Lack of political consensus on reforms: PM

Flagging "anxieties" of business leaders on issues like red tape, tax laws, regulation and proceedures, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he often found it tough to deal with these challenges due to "lack of political consensus on reforms".

"In the past few months, Indian business leaders have been worried. I understand their anxieties about red tape, our tax laws and administration, our regulations and procedures," he said addressing the 11th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here.

"I often found it tough to deal with these challenges because of a lack of political consensus on the reforms, we need to bring in," he said and lauded the business community for coping up with the competition despite the odds.

Seeking to dispel apprehensions of the economy going downhill, the Prime Minister said, "Through all the ups and down in the face of global challenges and despite the burden of past policy mistakes, our economy is on a rising growth trajectory".

Singh noted that the rate of growth has more that doubled to an annual average of over 7 per cent in the last two decades and the Indian economy got put on an upward trajectory.

"Naturally there will be periods of ups and downs. The economic cycle presents us years of high performance and years of modest performance. But the highs are getting higher and so are the lows.

"Today, many feel dissatisfied with the annual rate of five per cent, while for more than two decades, five per cent was the target rate of growth of our five year plans," the Prime Minister said.

He said the government's biggest challenge in trying to sustain this process of inclusive growth has been to bring rates of inflation down and keep the fiscal deficit under control.

"These remain a challenge and are being seriously addressed," Singh said.