He made this announcement while delivering a talk on `Current Economic Scenario - Challenges and Opportunities' organised by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Tuesday.

Stating that the 7 per cent growth rate achieved by the country was an encouraging sign, Sinha said, "If we are able to sustain the present growth rate, I am confident that India will find a place among the developed nations and will emerge as the economic superpower by the year 2010."

Delivering his lecture in chaste Hindi interspersed with English phrases, Sinha said that the Bharatiya Janata Party Government at the Centre was able to bring back the `feel-good factor' despite economic recession. "To bring back the feel-good factor in economy was no mean achievement considering the fact that our Government, during its 16 months' tenure, was dogged by six big crises," Sinha said. He said the six crises which the Government had to contend were, Pokharan II, sudden spiralling of prices last year, the impact on India of the severe East Asian economic recession, downslide of export rate, the fall of the BJP Government at the Centre and the issue of Kargil.

He said that a few weeks after coming to power, just as the BJP Government was trying to devise steps to counter the economic recession, the Pokharan II happened and the developed countries imposed economic sanctions on India.

And hardly had the Government started tackling the impact of crisis than the problem of sudden spiralling of prices arose.

Subsequently, in mid 1997, the East Asian crisis started deepening followed by a downslide in export growth rate in the year 1997-98, which in turn negatively affected industrial production. And then came the fall of the BJP government followed by the low-intensity war in Kargil.

"During this crisis-ridden period, the prophets of doom had started saying that since our party had no experience of governance, it would not be able to save the country from backsliding to the 1991 balance of payment crisis stage. But we proved them absolutely wrong," Sinha said.

Last September onwards economy started looking up, he said. "The Gross Domestic Product growth rate, which started picking up in the third quarter reached 6 per cent in 1999," Sinha said. He added in a lighter vein, "Since we were criticised for the sudden increase in prices last year, we should also have been given credit for the the substantial growth rate the economy registered this year. But that was ascribed to good agricultural production."

Similarly, inflation which they predicted would touch double digit came drastically down, and $ 3.5 billion was added to our revenue reserve, Sinha said. He claimed the Resurgent India Bond, floated by the Government in the international market, proved to be a turning point for the beleaguered Indian economy as it brought $ 4.2 billion to the country.

Admitting that foreign investment came down to $ 2 million, Finance Minister said the performance was satisfactory as compared to East Asian countries. He said that foreign investments had again reached the $ 10 million mark. Sinha, however, admitted that the sectors like steel, cement, commercial vehicles, paper etc were affected by the recession.

He said the BJP Government's economic policy laid stress on agricultural economy, improvement of quality of life in rural areas, infrastructural development and the development of science and technology.