Sounding optimistic that the country can deliver economic growth at a rate of 7-8 percent, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that the challenge before the country was to combine the economics of growth with the economics of equity and social justice.

"We have no option but to walk on two legs. On one hand, pursuing policies that unleash the creativity and enterprise inherence in our people, that reward excellence and risk-taking on the other, addressing the needs of every citizen, their right to a decent livelihood, to education and well-being, to equality of opportunity, and to peace and security," Singh said at the National Development Council meeting which concluded here on Tuesday.

Singh also expressed confidence in his government's efforts to get rid of the perennial scourges of poverty, ignorance and disease.

India's planning body has set a target of 8.1 percent growth rate for the current five-year plan. However, the mid-term appraisal of the Indian economy suggests that Indian economy was growing at a pace of 6.5 percent at the moment.

Source: Xinhua