President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday praised the NDA government at the centre for taking steps to bring in more FDI into the country.

“A sustained average growth rate between eight to nine per cent is required to address the issue of poverty alleviation in the country,” Mr. Mukherjee said at the AGM of Indian Chamber of Commerce.

He said that to meet that target, the gap between domestic savings and domestic investment would have to be bridged.

“To meet the investment requirements, the role of investment surplus countries come into play. I am glad that the government is fully aware of this and has taken appropriate steps in that regard”, Mr. Mukherjee said.

The president, who described himself as an important player in the policy making process two years ago, said his constitutional obligations now prevented him from making statements.

“Now others speak, I listen”, he said.

He also stressed on the need for improvement in both physical and social infrastructure, as well as development of skills of the youth for taking advantage of the demographic dividend.

On GST, he said that the states would have to come on board and develop an appropriate mechanism for its implementation.