NEW DELHI (TIP): Admitting the economy was going through a difficult period, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured the industry that government will leave no stone unturned to ensure a rebound. Singh attributed the rupee decline to widening current account deficit (CAD) and global factors and hoped that the steps taken by the Reserve Bank to arrest fall of domestic currency would be reversed with the easing of speculative pressure.

As regards the economy, he said though basic fundamentals are sound and stable, the growth rate in the current financial year was likely to be lower than 6.5 per cent estimated at the time of presentation of the budget in February. “We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the economy rebounds. I appeal to each one of you not to be overcome by negative sentiment,” Singh said while addressing the annual meeting of industry body Assocham.

“Let me begin by stating upfront that we, like most other countries, are going through a difficult period… It (industry) is looking to the government to bring the economy back to a higher growth path. This is a legitimate expectation and is also upper most in our mind,” he said. The Prime Minister assured the industry the government will remain pro-active in ensuring economic rebound. “When things are going well, government should interfere as little as possible. When things go badly, as they seem to be at present, it is the responsibility of the government to become pro-active,” Singh said.