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New Delhi, Nov. 21 The country has the ³capability and ability´ to sustain a growth rate of about
8 per cent and ³will do so,´ the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, said here on Friday.

Inaugurating the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, the Prime Minister said that no
instrument of public policy ± be it use of fiscal, monetary and public investments ± will be
spared to achieve higher growth.

The Reserve Bank of India, in its latest policy review, projected a GDP growth of 7.5-8 per cent
in the current fiscal, while the Prime Minister¶s Economic Advisory Council has estimated that
the growth will be in the region of 7 to 7.5 per cent.

Addressing the Summit, the Prime Minister pointed out that in an increasingly interdependent
world almost every country is bound to feel some impact of the global meltdown.

He was, however, of the opinion that the country ³can´ and ³will survive´ the crisis and emerge
stronger.

The Prime Minister said that the Government is also taking all steps to ³minimise´ the impact of
the global meltdown on India. He added that the country can survive the global crisis if ³we have
the imagination, sense of unity and the will to work together as a united nation.´

Dr Singh said that anticipating a slowdown, the Government had taken several steps in the latest
budget including a loan waiver to farmers and creating a safety net for the rural people through
the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Dr Singh called on Indian industry to have ³confidence´ that the Government ³knows its mind´
and has the ³resources and wisdom´ to grapple with the current crisis.

The Prime Minister said that the Government was also aware of the problems being faced by
small and medium enterprises and exporters and is reviewing the situation on a daily basis.

   
 has scared the most powerful economies in the world, but will not
affect India,´ according to Dr G K Chadha, member of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister.

He was speaking at the international conference on co-operative development, peace and security in
South Asia organised by the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID)
today.

Explaining the present economic crisis that has enveloped the world and the reasons why it will not
affect the country adversely, he said, ³Much of our economy depends on domestic trade which has
become stronger over the years. Since a major part of the economic investments is in the form of
domestic trade, there is very less percentage of outside investment in terms of the GDP.

I hope India will survive the crisis,´ he said.

Chadha declined the prevalent meltdown to be a catastrophe for India which is emerging as a
powerful world economy.