Sunday, May 22 2005 20:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Seeking "out of box" initiatives to boost economic growth, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (May 22, 2005) promised "bold" initiatives to restructure public finances, including subsidies, and reform the functioning of various Ministries to unleash entrepreneur skills and push up investment.

"We cannot be satisfied with the second best...We need the very best in meeting the future challenges and demand of the next decade," Singh said at a function marking the completion of one year of UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government in office.

The Left parties, supporting the Government from outside, did not join the celebration in which coalition leaders Sharad Pawar, M Karunanidhi, Laloo Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan were present.

In his 25-minute speech which followed an address by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Singh said "the people of the country are impatient for change, impatient for a better quality of life, impatient for new opportunities.

"We will be failing them if we do not think out of box and act with courage. Bold initiatives are called for on the economic front," he said.

Stressing the need for improving public finances at all levels of Government, Singh said, "We must reduce wasteful subsidies and divert these resources into needed social sector expenditure, investment and employment generation".

He said there was an "urgent need" for restructuring of public expenditure and improving the working of Ministries.