MUMBAI: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that he does not think there is "any hope" of the Indian economy reaching the target of five trillion dollars by 2024 as the growth rate is "declining year after year".
"I have said this publicly before that to reach a goal of five trillion dollars by 2024, as against 2.7 trillion dollars that we had in 2018, would require a growth rate of 10-12 per cent per annum. What is happening in BJP regime is that the government is faced with the prospect of a declining rate of growth year after year," Singh said while addressing a press conference here.
"IMF (International Monetary Fund) has come with a statement that India's growth rate during the current fiscal year will be only 6.1 per cent as against 7.3 per cent mentioned some months ago. With growth rate declining year after year, I don't think there is any hope of economy reaching the target of five trillion dollars by 2024," he added.
Last month, Singh had stressed the need for adopting a "well-conceived national strategy to make India a five trillion dollar economy".
While addressing an event at Laxmipat University in Jaipur, Singh had said, "Presently our country seems to have slowed down somewhat. The rate of GDP is declining. The investment rate is stagnant. Farmers are in distress. The banking system is facing a crisis, and unemployment is going up. We need a well-conceived national strategy to make India a five trillion dollar economy".