The savings-oriented psyche of Indians and their habit of living within their means will help the country to tide over the global financial crisis, former President APJ Abdul Kalam has said.
The conservative nature of the country's banking system and checks and balances within the liberalisation process, consistent with the unique social requirements, are the other factors that should hold India in good stead going forward, Kalam said following the inauguration of India Matters magazine, launched by the Consulate General of India.
He stressed that this is the time for innovation in thinking and rejuvenating the agricultural sector, particularly through value addition, and the small and medium scale industries and enterprises for making higher levels of contribution to the GDP.
"Simultaneously, we have to enhance the rural and urban infrastructure particularly through the establishment of 7,000 PURA (providing urban amenities in urban areas) complexes spread in different parts of the country encompassing 600,000 villages. The mission of PURA is employment generation with value added skills through connectivity," he said.
Kalam also said, "Apart from rural and urban infrastructure, one hundred million homes have to be built with energy efficient and water efficient systems. Annual investment in this sector will be $80 billion per year."
Kalam also said, "We are expecting to reach business volume of $200 billion per year by 2012." According to him, by 2030 India should attain energy independence through renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, nuclear and biofuels for transportation at an average annual investment of over $30 billion.