By Narayanan Madhavan (Hindustan Times)

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Friday that India’s economy had hit an “anchor” growth rate of 8.5 per cent and more likely looking at 9 per cent. But he underlined the need to drive growth deeper and wider as he defended the need for rural employment guarantees.

“Growth is not an end but a means to an end. Growth is not sufficient but necessary,” he said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, in which he outlined his own “10 commandments” for all-round development.

Chidambaram was also confident of presenting the next budget, despite speculation that an early election or political trouble could stop him from presenting his fifth budget for the UPA government due on February 28 next year. He hedged words on whether it will be a populist budget. “It will be a budget which will continue the efforts of the past four budgets,” he said. “There is no reason to change course. There is every reason to stay the course.”

He shrugged off concerns over coalition pressures on the government and said indications from foreign investors were in favour of India with no sign of hesitation or reversal.

“I do believe we will grow at 9 per cent,” Chidambaram said. “If there is some turbulence, it will fall to this side of 9 per cent… Foreign investors should proceed on the assumption that the anchor rate of growth will be in the range of 8 to 8.5 per cent.”

Looking at the current financial year, he said the most pessimistic rate could be 8.6 per cent. “Does 8.6 per cent look negative to anyone? I think it will be closer to 9 per cent,” he said. He dismissed suggestion that capital flows into India were erratic, and spoke of a “secular rising graph” in it. But he said high interest rates were affecting some sectors.

Chidambaram spoke at length on the need to drive education at all levels and defended the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme as necessary despite financial pressures. “It is an interim measure needed until what the ILO calls decent employment is assured,” he said.

He compared output statistics of steel, rice and wheat with China to emphasise that India had a long way to go in boosting productivity and prosperity, but noted that India was fast heading towards a situation where its labour force and work-force would be equal in number, suggesting that even if people were deployed in less desirable jobs, they would not be jobless. “We seem to have no confidence that a country like India in our lifetime can wipe out poverty,” he said. “Can we make that India our India? I believe we can. The bottomline is growth.”

Chidambaram’s Ten Commandments...

1. Not be beholden to anyone
2. Not make for ourselves any ideology
3. Not make wrongful use of any religion, for no religion will tolerate anyone who misuses it
4. Remember every day that we work, because work is worship
5. Honour our senior citizens
6. Not commit or condone any crime
7. Value knowledge and build a
knowledge society
8. Not deprive the poor of their rights
9. Not do anything to hurt our fellow citizens or the environment
10. Not covet public property or anything that belongs in common to all the people

Email: madhavan.n@hindustantimes.com