Five trillion economy by 2024 is 'wishful thinking,' says Manmohan Singh

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said that planning for a $5 trillion economy by 2024 is "a wishful thinking" and that the government does not recognise the slowdown.

"Today, we have a government which does not recognises that there's a word called "slowdown." If you can't recognise what is happening then you can't take a correct action. The 5 trillion dollar economy is wishful thinking," Singh said at the book launch of Montek singh Ahluwalia.

Recalling the era of the 1990s, also known as the 'reform period of the Indian economy,' the former prime minister noted, "The reforms period was a tortuous path. The Bombay Club was not in favour of liberalisation. But I knew I had very little time. I forced the government to devalue the rupee. I am very grateful to former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao for standing by me.