The Hindu Business Line

UN pat for India's 'economic performance' 

January 25, 2006

New Delhi: The United Nations has extolled India's "strong economic performance" in 2005, driven largely by the manufacturing sector, booming domestic demand for consumer goods as well as infrastructure development.

In its publication, 'World Economic Situation and Prospects 2006', released in New York, the UN report also took due note of the "strong response by the business community to opportunities created by an expanding domestic market as the middle class grows — thus sustaining consumption demand — infrastructure bottlenecks started to be addressed and prospects of exports remained positive". Singling out the Bharat Nirman (Building India) programme, which comprises investments totaling $40 billion over a four-year period starting in 2005, the report said this would add impetus to demand for industrial goods over the medium term.

India's services sector also performed well, supported by the continued strong growth of information technology (IT) services as well as tourism and tourism-related activities.

Even as agriculture remains dependent on monsoon rains, it said there has been a return to near normal harvests, which contributed to growth in the year.

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