India aims to achieve 7-8 pct growth, inclusive growth with new budget

India's new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday presented its first national budget which is aimed at achieving 7 to 8 percent growth rate in nextthree to four years while maintaining inclusiveness of development.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said when presenting the budget that the government will establish an employee's pension system, provide electricity to all rural areas to cover every household with power and realize total sanitation goals by 2019, when the Modi government completes its term. He also promised to build more colleges, hospitals across the country and introduce foreign direct investment in insurance sector and reform the state-owned banking and tax systems which raise ceiling of tax exemption to 800 U.S. dollars to all individuals.

He said there was an urgent need to revive growth in manufacturing and infrastructure and India will revive special industrial zones to attract foreign investment.

The finance minister said the possibility of a poor monsoon and the Iraq crisis were key challenges with a bearing on both government finances and inflation.

The budget for current fiscal comes against the backdrop of the Economic Survey 2013-14, the annual report card on the state of the nation, which has termed inflation-control, job creation and pushing growth as the three main challenges, while calling for a fresh dose of reforms.