Addressing the annual general meeting of industry chamber CII in the national capital, prime minister Manmohan Singh on April 3 said India can get back to the high growth path of 8 percent even while dealing with problems like corruption, bureaucratic inertia and difficulties in managing coalition. He said the government will further relax the FDI policy and take steps to bring down inflation. "Growth has slowed to 5 percent, which is clearly disappointing.... We are seeing temporary downturn, partly due to global factors. We can get back to 8 percent growth rate," the prime minister said, adding that the government will take speedy and decisive action to push economic growth.

But how feasible is Singh’s claims and assurances, given that the reports and feedbacks from all quarters and sectors are negative? Having made similar promises on multiple occasions over the last couple of years, is this the politician in the PM speaking as the general elections draw closer? In sum, is Manmohan Singh daydreaming showing Indians the dream of a return to the glory days of 8% growth?