Friday October 30, 3:52 PM
Militants dampening India growth: finance minister
India's finance minister said Friday that militant activity in the country was dragging down economic development and sapping the state's already stretched financial resources.
Pranab Mukherjee told a conference here that he was targeting a growth rate of 8.0-10.0 percent in the medium term, above the 6.0-6.5 percent forecast for this year, but that security remained a concern.
"The security environment must improve in order to have faster growth," he told the Hindustan Times leadership forum before detailing the cost to the government of tackling threats to the country.
"In one year, the budget of our interior ministry has increased by almost 25 percent because no finance minister can compromise external security or internal security," he said.
India is grappling with a Maoist-led domestic insurgency that is increasing in intensity. The country also faces threats from foreign militant groups of the sort accused of killing 166 people in Mumbai last November.
"In collaboration with the state governments, we have to maintain the security environment so that there is smooth transportation and industrial activity can take place," he added.
Mukherjee said the federal government deficit, the shortfall in its budget, would be 6.8 percent of gross domestic product in this financial year to March 2010.
By 2011/12 he said he would like it to come down to 5.5 percent and later to 4.0 percent.
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