E-Paper
'Per capita income to be $1,000 in 2007-08'
India's per capita income is expected to rise to $1,000 by the end of the 2007/08 fiscal year on the back of a 9 per cent economic growth, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said on Monday.
India's per capita income is expected to rise to $1,000 by the end of the 2007/08 fiscal year on the back of a 9 per cent economic growth, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said on Monday.
Per capita income stood at $797 in 2006/07, according to data from the central bank's Web site — nearly double from $460 in 2000-01 thanks to robust economic growth.
"Per capita income will be $1,000 at current exchange rates if we grow at 9 per cent," Chidambaram told a gathering.
In the financial year 2006-07, India's economy expanded 9.4 per cent — one of the fastest growth rates in the world. The growth has averaged 8.6 per cent in the past four years.
"Per capital will double every nine years. By 2016/17, per capita will be $2,000 if we grow at 9 per cent and in another nine years, by 2025, per capita would be $4,000 and that will make us a middle-income country," Chidambaram said.
Chidambaram said the government would devise ways to utilise its rising foreign exchange reserves to build creaky infrastructure.
India estimates it needs $475 billion between 2007 and 2012 to upgrade its roads, expand and modernise its ports, improve rail services and boost power generation. Foreign exchange reserves rose to $262 billion at end-October placing it among the top five in Asia.
