Addressing members of the Uttar Pradesh merchants chamber and the upstock exchange here, Mr Sinha said "unfortunately a controversy had hit the headlines for quite some time that the growth rate could not reach up to seven per cent''.

The finance minister clarified that he had never said that the targetted growth rate was seven per cent and added that he was unable to understand why the controversy rocked the business and media circles.

"I would like to categorically assure that the government was working on the right direction with appropriate strategy and the growth rate would be within the reach of the target''.

The finance Minister said, the cause behind the controversy was "our ambitious style of looking at the matter,". He further added "when we say the growth rate declines from seven to six per cent it should be a matter of concern for us but it should not tantamount that the growth rate would remain only at six per cent." Mr Sinha said,the government was acting on a four-point strategy to strengthen the country's economy. The first priority was to achieve a high growth rate and to touch the nine per cent growth as assured by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his address to the nation on August 15.

Secondly, the government was stressing on IT to generate maximum possible jobs for the youths.

The finance minister said,the government would also ensure basic facilities and resources on a state-wise basis to eradicate poverty within a given time frame.

He added that the government's strategy was to regain the old glory and honour of India in the world. "And with our scientists and technocrats achieving a lot in their fields, we have certainly gone ahead," he said. Mr Sinha said a number of happenings since the beginning of the financial year in April had changed the economic scenario. Among these, an unexpected hike in the prices of petroleum products at the internatio nal level had forced the government to pass on the hike to some extent upon the domestic consumers.

Besides, the monsoon this year was not good and several parts of the country were facing a drought situation. The kharif crop production was much less than expected and it was feared that the rabi crops might also get adversely affected.

Considering the present situation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government were taking all necessary steps and trying to devise a strategy that would ensure the stability of the money market.

In this regard, the RBI had not taken the dollar as the basis to stablise the rupee in the currency market.

He said the country had adequate foreign exchange reserves and if required the government was in a position to even incur Rs 10 billion for the import of petroleum products.

The ongoing process of globalisation had been one of the controversial issues but there was nothing more to worry about, he said. "Our country is a member of the world trade organisation(WTO and therefore it is obligatory on the government's part to work on the lines of the signed agreement or else the country will have to come out of the WTO,"he said.

(UNI)