Stating that present inflation rate remains a cause of concern for the UPA government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said all sectors of the economy must step up productivity and increase output to ensure non-inflationary growth of the economy.

“In the Eleventh Plan period, we expect the economy to grow at around 9 per cent per year. To ensure non-inflationary growth, we must step up production in all sectors, in agriculture, manufacturing and in services,” Singh said after laying the foundation stone for expansion and modernisation of Rs 1,902-crore SAIL Salem Steel Plant.

Sharing the dais with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister pointed out that due to steep increase in international prices of petroleum products and primary commodities, inflation and its control have emerged as major concerns of policy. “We have taken steps to moderate the rise in prices. We have also tried to ensure that inflation control measures do not hurt growth,” he said.

He added that the country has a long way to go in creating infrastructure essential for modernisation. He said ready availability of steel products is a key requirement for infrastructure.

Singh said rising prominence of the Indian steel industry on the global landscape also mirrored the emergence of the country as a leading economic power. “From small beginnings, India has now become the world’s fifth largest steel producer of steel. If the present trend continues, we will become the second largest steel producer by 2015,” he said. A lot of hard work and enterprise was imperative to bridge the demand-supply mismatch, he said and asked domestic steel majors to operate on the frontiers of technology, managerial excellence and high productivity.

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