Hyderabad/Mumbai:
State Bank of India chairman Rajnish Kumar on Saturday said the country can become a $5 trillion economy, but was skeptical whether it is achievable by 2024-25 as envisaged by the government.
Speaking at an interactive session organsied by FICCI, he said private investment was necessary for achieving the target.
We will definitely achieve, there is no doubt. Timeframe, I am not certain. Whether we'll achieve in five years, it is like, a very difficult question to answer. But $5 trillion, we will achieve for sure and again Im saying that it will come on the back of private sector investments revival," Kumar said replying to a query.
According to him, the government investments alone cannot achieve it and there is a need for huge investments in the infrastructure sector which would result in boosting the GDP.
Meanwhile, India needs to strengthen its manufacturing capacity and produce quality products that will help the country achieve the $5 trillion economy target by 2025, former union minister Suresh Prabhu said on Saturday.
He also said that exports are going to be the main driver of economic growth.
"India today is a $2.5 trillion economy, and we have set a target of becoming $5 trillion by 2025. In this target, 50 per cent will be international trade, of which exports will be a major component," Prabhu — who is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sherpa for the G20 summit — said here while addressing the 23rd edition of Techfest – Asia's Largest Science and Technology Festival.
On road map to achieve $5 trillion economy objective, he said "there is a need to strengthen the country's manufacturing and produce quality products".
"Our biggest challenge today is quality. We need to upgrade our manufacturing so that we can compete in international markets," Prabhu said, adding that now the country mainly exports merchandise, services and agri produce.
The former minister said that India also needs to identify the export market requirement and work towards building it.
"Besides manufacturing, we have identified 12 champion sectors in the services industry, which we can export. We also have the potential to export $100 billion agricultural produce, he opined.
Going forward, Prabhu said, the country should look for knowledge-based exports.
"We must leverage our brain capability more. We must come out with technology oriented solutions as a package, customise it according to demand. With this India could become an export hub for technology related solutions," he added.
FICCI president Sangitha Reddy said there is a slowdown in the economy and the government needs to infuse Rs one-two lakh crore to revive the sentiment.
This is one thing that we, industry, believes that notwithstanding any impact it may have on fiscal deficit, the government must find ways to induce at least Rs one-two trillion into the economy to boost construction and infrastructureonce again, she said.
According to her, there were pending bills getting piled up at every sector and there is a need for structural reforms for boosting the sentiment which would result in re- accelerating the economy.
Reddy said the $5 trillion economy target cannot be achieved either by the government or industry alone and they should 'clap hands' together to achieve it.