Modi promises 12% growth, development with 'human touch'

A growth rate of around 12 per cent, an impressive human development index (HDI) and development with a 'human touch' while ensuring economic prosperity is what the Gujarat government under Narendra Modi is aiming at in the coming five years.

"Gujarat will compete with the developed countries as far as the human development index is concerned. I know it's difficult, but we will make a sincere attempt," said Modi while addressing a luncheon meeting with the media at his official residence on Monday.

Stating that the outcome of the elections had given a big boost to his government's development agenda, Modi said the new government would carry forward its agenda.

"It gives more strength and motivation to work when we know that people want development and nothing else," he said while mentioning that schemes such as Nirmal Gujarat will be extended and new ones like 'Nirogi Balak' (healthy child) would be introduced in the coming fiscal.

He said his government was confident of achieving the target set by the Planning Commission to attain a growth of 11.2 per cent. "We will need a big push in industrial, agriculture and services sectors if we want to achieve this target," he said.

Modi also promised that all remaining works of the Narmada project would be complete by 2010.

"Until now, governments focussed on budget and outlay. But we want to change it to budget to outlay to outcome," he said.

Stating that Gujarat was the only state in the country, which had achieved a high growth of 10.7 per cent, Modi said the model development through people's participation would be expanded on a much wider scale in the next five years and converted into people's movement.

"As a sequel to the development model adopted in the last six years, the manifesto of our party underlines our commitment to make Gujarat the number one state in the country and be on a par with the developed world," he said.