‘Give top Priority to infrastructure’

Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn has ruled out immediate recovery of global economy and stressed the need to accord top priority to infrastructure.

Delivering the 33rd Frank Moraes memorial lecture here on Tuesday, he also highlighted the haphazard growth in infrastructure across the country would impact investment and job creation.

Gokarn also said that workers are now moving from farm to factory but the share of industry in the growth is stagnant although it is absorbing workers. Stressing on the need for a productive workforce, he said that there is a large population which is self-employed. “But these self-employed are low on productivity. Creation of productive jobs is the need of the hour,” Gokarn said.

Comparing food inflation in 2008-09 with the current scenario, he said rate of inflation is high despite growth slowdown. He said unlike earlier where the inflation was driven by cereals and sugar, it is now driven by the rise in prices of protein items like meat, egg and vegetables.

Indian Overseas Bank chairman and managing director M Narendra, who was present on the occasion said that he has taken up the challenge of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on covering all the villages in the state. “Nearly 6,000 villages have to be covered and we are taking it up fast,” he added.

IOB has set up 13 rural development training institutes in TN which has upgraded the skills of 7,000 youth including women.