India must grow at least 8-10% per year for next 25 years, says Singapore central bank head

India must grow by at least 8-10 percent per year for the next 25 years if it wants to achieve its social and economic ambitions, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, senior minister in the Singapore Cabinet and chairman of Monetary Authority of Singapore, said on July 8 while delivering the inaugural Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture.

"India is not going to be able to achieve its economic and social ambitions in the next 25 years without substantially higher growth ambitions. India must grow by at least 8-10 percent a year over the next 25 years. It is the only way in which it is going to be able to both lift per capita incomes as well as create many more jobs," Shanmugaratnam said in the Capital.

In addition to just faster growth, Shanmugaratnam said India must also implement reforms at a faster pace and ensure the rapid growth is inclusive.

"India has greater opportunity than any other major nation in the next 25 years. But realising the opportunity will require higher ambition – higher ambition in growth, higher ambition in social inclusivity, and higher ambition in developing sustainable society and economy. It also requires greater urgency; India will have to accelerate the pace of reforms than has been started and reorient the role of government," the central banker said.