Former prime minister Manmohan Singh said India can achieve a growth rate of 8-9 percent given a ‘national consensus’ on methods to take advantage of a globalised world.

“I think that even though many other emerging economies are not doing too well, India has an opportunity to move towards a growth rate of 6-7 percent and thereafter to 8 percent,” he said.

Singh was addressing an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

During his prime ministership, the economy clocked three years of 9 percent growth rate.

He pointed out that the country cannot grow in isolation. “India is well placed to take advantage of this situation provided we evolve a meaningful national consensus to move ahead,” he said.

“We are working towards a growth rate of 8-9 percent. There are opportunities, there are risks. India is currently at last poised to create a milieu in which the growth story of India can be another worthwhile chapter in the evolving global economies,” Singh added.

In the current financial year 2014-15, the government estimates the growth to be between 5.4-5.9 percent.