The finance minister said the economy weathered the global financial crisis "well" and it is performing much better now than a year ago.
The government today said the economy has weathered the global financial crisis well and is likely to revert to 9% growth next fiscal.
After laying the foundation stone for the Rs790 crore ESIC Medical Education Complex in the backward district of Gulbarga in North Karnataka, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee also said healthcare remains an area of concern.
The finance minister said the economy weathered the global financial crisis "well" and it is performing much better now than a year ago.
The GDP is expected to grow around 8.5% during 2010-11 and could cross 9% in 2011-12, he said.
Indian economic growth slowed down to 6.7% in 2008-09 against 9% during the previous three fiscals, as it came under the ripple effects of global financial crisis.
The economy is estimated to grow by 7.2% in 2009-10 on the back of stimulus measures provided by the government. Actual numbers would be released on Monday.
Touching upon healthcare, he said it is an area in which India faced a deficit in terms of physical infrastructure as well as human resources.
It has been decided to undertake an annual health survey to prepare the district health profile of all districts this fiscal, he said. The findings of the survey will be of immense benefit to major public health initiatives, he said.
As part of UPA government's initiative to achieve the objectives of inclusive development, budgetary allocation on social sector this year has been increased to Rs1,37,674 crore, which is about 37% of the total plan outlay, Mukherjee said.
"This will be supplemented with another 25% of plan allocation earmarked for rural infrastructure",he said.
The government has put in place statutory framework for the Right to Information, Right to Education and Right to Work, he said and added that "efforts are on to pilot the Food Security Bill that would guarantee availability of foodgrains to the poorest section at affordable price as a matter of right".
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has been mandated to create 500 million skilled persons by 2022 under the National Skill Development Policy, he said.
The complex will have medical college, dental college, nursing college and 500 bed Employees State Insurance Corporation Hospital.
Union labour and employment minister M Mallikarjun Kharge, who represents Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency, stressed the
need for extending special economic package for development of backward regions in Karnataka.
He said the Union government would open a Skill Development Centre in Gulbarga, if the state provided 27 acres.
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