Speed up reforms: Economic Survey

NEW DELHI: The pre-budget Economic Survey tabled today in Parliament mooted the speeding up of tax and labour reforms, and steps to remove infrastructure bottlenecks to sustain the economy's rosy outlook.

It also urged that the Indian industry needed to be unburdened from high level of taxes. It also mooted the elimination of unwanted subsidies.

The Economic Survey projected an economic growth of 8.1 percent during 2005-06, as it saw a new industrial resurgence, a pick up investment and modest inflation.

The Indian economy has been growing at 8.5 percent and 7.5 percent in the two previous years.

According to the Economic Survey 2005-2006, some significant dimensions of the dynamic growth in recent years are: a new industrial resurgence; a pick up in investment; modest inflation in spite of spiraling global crude prices; rapid growth in exports and imports with a widening of the current account deficit; laying of some institutional foundations for faster development of physical infrastructure; progress in fiscal consolidation; and the launching of the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Scheme for inclusive growth and social security.

The Economic Survey identified power shortage as the single most impediment to growth.

The Survey further stated that progress continued in attracting private investment into the infrastructure sectors of telecommunications, ports and airports.