India cannot build infrastructure and generate economic growth at the pace of state-led China as it has a different model of growth where the emphasis is on people-oriented policies, Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Kapil Sibal said here today.

On the sidelines of the WEF, Sibal added that growth has to be equity based. We cannot have the urban population flourishing and the rural people remaining untouched by the growth. Our land is more arable vis-a-vis China's and thus we should give more impetus to growth in the agriculture sector, which will in turn empower the rural population to participate in the overall growth of the economy.

He stressed the need to strengthen the manufacturing sector as well by making it more innovative and adopting simpler technologies. "I feel that manufacturing sector will be one of the largest growth areas since it will generate employment thus leading to equity based growth and it will also attract investment."

"There is a different model of growth in our country. In a society, which is somewhat different, you can get a lot of people to move out without access to courts of law, without stay orders from courts, get the system going," Sibal said.