The Hindu Business Line : Chidambaram confident of 10% GDP growth

Coimbatore June 16 The Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has said the country is marching towards achieving a GDP growth of nearly 10 per cent during the current fiscal.

Speaking after inaugurating the new factory of Saarc Tool Tech Pvt Ltd at Malumichampatti near here on Saturday, he said youngsters should have the self-assurance that they could achieve their goals and what was being manufactured abroad could be produced in India as well, and India could become a strong and prosperous nation.

He said it was this confidence that was propelling the nation and it was the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, who was the `symbol of this faith', who was steering the nation.

Mr Chidambaram said it was this self-assurance that had enabled the country to achieve continuously in the past three years (of the UPA Government rule at the Centre) a growth rate of 7.5 per cent in the first year, 9 per cent in the next year and 9.4 per cent in the third year. During the current fiscal, the anticipation was whether the growth rate would reach 10 per cent.

Referring to the newly commissioned plant, he said the factory where roto moulded transit cases (boxes) for packing military equipment would be manufactured, had been established at an investment of about Rs 8.5 crore.

Already, the factory had received enquiries from abroad for possible sourcing.

He said the defence services required specific types of boxes that would be sturdy in any weather conditions and would withstand rough handling so that the critical equipment that were packed inside were not damaged.

He referred to the situation during the Kargil war when India had to import the boxes to keep the bodies of slain soldiers at a cost of Rs 1.10 lakh per box since such boxes were not manufactured in India then.