Shed negativity :PM

Warning against a mood of “negativism”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggested India’s business and economic environment is much better than the gloomy sentiment generated by a slew of scandals. Singh said India could be in danger of scoring a selfgoal and buoyant domestic conditions cannot be taken for granted. “It is our collective responsibility to reverse the mood of negativism today... Nothing is ordained or pre-determined. India can rise, but India can also falter.” The PM urged the Opposition to agree on shared objectives. “We can either become victims of negativism, criticising ourselves all the way, or work together to put ourselves firmly in the group of rising economies. Both optimism and pessimism have an infectious quality.” He said the slowing of the economy is temporary and the 12th Plan aimed at a robust 9% growth. Singh said India's long-term prospects were not in doubt but stressed that not catching the tide at full could well becalm the Indian economy. Calling for sustained higher investment in infrastructure, Singh sought to shake off a doomsday scenario about UPA-2, Singh said, “As we in government seek to create the foundations for higher investment, higher employment and growth, we must be particularly mindful of the impact of our policies and politics on public and private investor sentiment.” Pointing to India's advantages at a time when a slowdown threatens both the US and European economies, the PM said the world is witnessing a major realignment of economic power and said, “Industrialised countries are slowing down, emerging market economies are gaining weight and regionally, Asia is gaining weight.” The NDC meeting sought views of assembled chief ministers on a blueprint to power Indian infrastructure which Singh has repeatedly asserted can absorb $300 billion of investment over the next decade. “Much of the growth process is now driven by actors outside the direct control of government...This, however, does not mean government has no role to play in the development process. It has a very large role and I would distinguish four areas in this context,” the PM said, pointing to the policy environment and areas like rural and urban infrastructure.