Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today reiterated the government's commitment to accelerate economic growth in the country. Addressing the annual meeting of FICCI in New Delhi, Dr Singh said the government has taken several measures to revive the economy and stimulate investment.

He said the government will restore growth momentum and take the economic growth rate to eight to nine per cent. The Prime Minister said inflation is unacceptably high and added that it should be brought down to the level of five to six per cent.

Stating that the disinvestment process will be speeded up, he urged the private sector to play a more active role in the areas of Research and Development, education, skill development and health.

Underlining the importance of making growth process socially and regionally more inclusive, Dr Singh observed that a better connected populace is a source of a larger demand and markets for goods and services.

Dr. Singh said, the global economy is passing through turbulent times and excessive pessimism at home has hurt the country's growth process.
The Prime Minister further said the government needs to take forward the steps it has taken through constitution of Cabinet Committee on Investment to revive the economy.

The Prime Minister also assured the industry that two ambitious tax reforms — Direct Taxes Code (DTC) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) — are high on government's priority list.