PM vows to remove bottlenecks for NRI investors

Making a strong pitch for India as an investment destination, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a gathering of Indians living abroad that he expected the country to return to a sustained GDP growth of 9-10 per cent in the next couple of years.

Inaugurating the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, an annual convention of non-resident Indians, in New Delhi yesterday, the prime minister did not attempt to deny that poor infrastructure and all-pervasive red tape, along with state-level problems, were holding up the country's progress.

''I cannot say that we have delivered in full measure on the enormous promise and potential of our country,'' he said. He added that some of this had to do with India's democratic polity and the diversity of its culture; and expressed confidence that the country would still move ahead.

''I recognise the frustration well-wishers feel when they lament why things don't work faster or why well-formulated plans and policies don't get implemented as well as they should be,'' Singh said.

On Thursday, international steel baron Sunil Mittal had complained that it was impossible to get his projects in India moving because of red tape and land acquisition delays. Singh's comments seemed a direct response to these comments.

Attempting a flight of fancy, Singh said India may be a slow-moving elephant, but ''it is equally true that with each step forward, we leave behind a deep imprint''. He did not elaborate on this somewhat cryptic statement.