Pawar wants govt to take bold decisions

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today made a strong pitch for the government to take bold decisions for reforms, including foreign direct investment (FDI) and the removal of policy paralysis to spur growth by attracting investments.

NCP chief and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday said there was a need to curtail subsidy, especially which benefits the rich and upper class, revisit the present nature of the national employment guarantee scheme and overhaul the public distribution system so that those deserving can benefit and keep consistency in the implementation of decisions. India's annual economic growth slumped in the January-March quarter to a nine-year low of 5.3 per cent and 6.5 per cent during 2011-12.

Pawar, who had recently objected to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on how the coalition politics was a major constraint in taking important decisions, assured his party would not be a spoiler but would wholeheartedly support fast-track reforms and bold decisions to avoid deepening of the present economic crisis.

Pawar's statement is crucial at a time when UPA allies, including the Trinamool Congress and Opposition parties are opposing FDI, especially in retail. He was speaking to the reporters at the sidelines of party meeting here.

"India is reeling under an economic crisis. The rupee is sliding rapidly which is now 56.50 to a dollar, the growth, which used to be up to 9 per cent has slipped to 5.5 per cent even though it is high compared to some European countries. However, if we have to keep the investment climate intact and increase the growth rate, we have to take bold decisions,” he said.