Text of Indian prime minister's speech at Planning Commission meet.

Text of report headlined "Full text of prime minister's statement circulated at the Planning Commission meeting" published by Indian prime minister's official website on 15 September

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh made brief opening remarks at the full Planning Commission meeting in New Delhi today. In addition, the full text of the Statement of the Prime Minister was distributed at the meeting. Following is the full text:

"I welcome you to this meeting to consider the draft Twelfth Five Year Plan.

We ended the Eleventh Plan period with notable achievements. The average growth rate was 7.9 percent. This was lower than the 9 percent target, but better than the 7.6 percent achieved in the Tenth Plan. Since the period saw two global crises - one in 2008 and another in 2011 - the 7.9 percent growth is commendable.

There was also progress in inclusiveness. Poverty declined twice as fast between 2004-05 and 2009-10 than it did in the previous ten years. When the data for 2011-12 are included, the rate of decline in the Eleventh Plan period will be even higher. Agriculture grew at 3.3 percent per year in the Eleventh Plan, much faster than the 2.4 percent observed in the Tenth Plan. The latest NSSO data also establish that the growth rate of rural consumption per capita in the period 2004-05 to 2011-12 was twice as high as in the previous period 1993-94 to 2004-05.

These are positive features, but we must also recognise that the Twelfth Plan is starting in a year when the world economy is experiencing difficulties and our economy has also slowed down. Growth decelerated to 6.5 percent in 2011-12, and …