New Delhi - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday asserted that India "can and will survive" the global financial crisis and sustain an 8-per-cent economic growth.
"In a globalized world, we cannot pretend that we are not affected by the economic crisis," Singh said while addressing a conference in New Delhi, adding "however, we can and will survive this crisis and emerge stronger."
Exuding confidence that India had "resources and wisdom" to deal with the crisis, Singh said all instruments of public policy - fiscal, monetary, exchange rate and public investment - will be deployed to ensure growth and entrepreneurship and tackle the adverse impact of the slowdown.
Congress president and UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi extended her support to calibrated liberalization of economy and said that government is committed to galvanize country from the impact of global slowdown. She called for such economic policies which don't affect the vulnerable sections of society and do not compromise with social justice. 
The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation rate continued to decline in the second consecutive week and now stands at 8.90 per cent. The inflation was 8.98 per cent a week ago. Declining trend brings a respite for the central government, which is facing flak for rising prices. 
BJP’s senior leader and NDA’s Prime Ministerial candidate, L.K. Advani stressed the need to take hard steps for country’s economic growth. He warned that India can face meltdown, causing large scale lay-offs following the impact of the global slowdown. India needs stern actions and willpower to bring the situation to normal level. He was speaking in a meeting with top corporate leaders to discuss impact of global slowdown. 
Union Finance Minister, P Chidambaram said that government would take all possible steps to help industry in the hour of crisis. It has already taken many fiscal measures with the help of reserve bank to improve liquidity and increase demand for industry. 
