Manufacturing needs to grow between 11 per cent and 12 per cent compared with 8 per cent in the 11th Plan to create three million additional jobs a year.
“It is here reforms in FDI and trade policies needed to attract quality investment,” Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, told reporters at the regional consultation of Planning Commission with southern States on the approach paper to the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17).
On infrastructure debt fund, Mr Ahluwalia said, “In the 11th Plan, we had an ambitious target for infrastructure. We think in the 12th Plan, there has to be practically double the volume of investments that we achieved in infrastructure in the 11th Plan”.
Mr Ahluwalia said he was aware that inflation was higher than the target set, but added that one should not forget that such forecasts are also subject to external factors like the global food supply.
“This puts upward pressure on prices,” he said.
As the country is entering the monsoon phase, with rains and good efficient macro management inflation is likely to bring down high food prices to manageable levels by October end.
“Our current assessment is that food inflation at the moment is too high, but there is no domestic shortage. Cereals are in a very good shape... we have more.”
Mr Ahluwalia said States must modify APMC Act/rules, excluding horticulture, modernise land records and enable land leases.