India will sustain over 8 percent growth rate: Kumar

New York, Sept 23 (PTI) Given the strong fundamentals of
the Indian economy, it will be able to sustain a growth rate
of over 8 percent over the next ten years and continue to
attract investments in services and manufacturing sectors,
Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry said here.

"Despite some developments that are not favourable, we
will still manage to have robust growth," Ashwani Kumar said.

Pointing out to the strength of the country's economy,
Kumar told investors attending the annual meeting of the India
Investment Forum that the nation would remain on course on the
path of economic reform and continue to put investor friendly
policies in place.

Supporting the steps being taken by Washington to deal
with the financial crisis, Kumar said the U.S. government's
action affirms the fact that the State has interventionist as
also moderating and stimulating role in an "absolutely
critical" situation.

"The State is not going whither away," he remarked.

A unique feature of the India's growth story has been
that it has uplifted one per cent of the population out of
absolute poverty every year since 1985. So far 491 million
people have been lifted out absolute poverty and another 290
million will out that situation by 2020, he said.

He pointed out that it costs 60 percent to set up fully
integrated competitive manufacturing facility in India as
compared to the rest of the world.

"Our productivity has achieved European standards at 20
percent of cost and 21 of 100 best running companies in
emerging economies are in India," he said.

Besides, he said the middle class with substantial
purchasing power is expected to grow to 12 to 15 percent by
2010 from 6 percent of the population at present.

Conceding that the employment in the public sector has
shrunk, he stressed that it has been more than made up by
increasing employment in the service and manufacturing sectors
in the private sector.

Speaking on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, the minister said
it was a pointer to the transformation of relations between
the two major democracies of the world and indicated that the
U.S. had realised India's economic potential and cultural
power.

The deal, which is waiting for a Congressional nod in the
U.S., has the potential for American companies to get orders
worth USD 100 billion as India expands its nuclear power, he
told American investors.