Manufacturing, urbanisation to drive peak growth of 8-9%: Kant

New Delhi, July 6 (KNN) India will be able to achieve a high growth of 8-9% if the focus is on manufacturing and urbanisation, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event for release of report titled “The Rise of India’s Middle Class”, he said about 5,500 census towns need to have master planning, and sustainable urbanisation is the way forward, which is a huge opportunity to drive growth in India. 

The bulging middle class holds immense power to drive sustained economic, political and social growth in India, he said.

Highlighting the significance of growing number of middle class, he said, this will drive demand for quality healthcare, education, housing, consumer goods and many other things.

The government will increasingly have to focus on education and health as well as creating job opportunities. 

“The vision of India becoming a fully developed country by 2047 really implies that the middle class needs to be the key driver of India’s growth story,” he said.

“Rise of the Indian middle class is also indicative of economic transformation that the country has undergone over the decades. Since the 1991 reforms, millions have been propelled into the middle class. Technological advancements and sustained growth have also led to a growing and expanding middle class,” he said.

Kant opined that there is a need that there is a regional balance in growth to face challenges. 

“The southern part of India is growing and urbanising rapidly, while the eastern part of India needs to do a lot of catching up because it’s the most populous part of the country. Therefore, there is a need to ensure that there is a regional balance in growth,” he said. (KNN Bureau)