Delay in project completion added to slowdown: Rangarajan

But asserts economy is resilient and despite high CAD, India can still become a middle income country

Among other factors, delay in completion of projects in the country contributed to the economic slowdown in India, said former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor and economist C Rangarajan.

"While on one hand investments and savings rates have fallen in recent times, the output rate has also slowed down. Delay in completion of projects have contributed significantly to slowdown in Indian economy," Rangarajan said.

However, speaking at the 'Confluence 2013', the international business summit of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Rangarajan said that the Indian economy is resilient and that though the current account deficit (CAD) has been high, India still has the possibility of becoming a middle income country from the current low income country.

"The coming decade will be crucial for India.  If India grows by 8-9 per cent, the country's per capita GDP can grow from current $1600 per annum to $8000-10,000 per annum by 2025.  Reforms alone will not be enough. What is critically more important is execution. We need ideas and we need to transform them into programs and implement them," said Rangarajan while speaking on 'Global Turmoil and The India Story' at the summit.

This year, Confluence 2013, a three day international business summit of IIM-A, is based on the theme of 'Traversing Turbulent Times – Obstacles to Opportunity', and aims to understand the secret of navigating periods of crisis and find a way out of the turmoil.

According to Rangarajan, the economic slowdown in India was because of three reasons viz., supply bottlenecks, price shocks and configuration of economic and non-economic factors.  

On the other hand, offering a solution for fighting economic turmoil, Vinod Rai, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India said, "India will have to ensure governance in both corporate and government that is transparent and accountable. The country will have to build its governance on a new model of morality. Any decision that it takes will have to be sustainable over a long period of time. Turbulent times help us to innovate and India can and will create a new set of norms. It is a resilient economy."