India to push reforms, welcomes inflows - adviser

* Plan panel deputy: India may miss medium term growth target * Food inflation a concern, may moderate by year end

* Govt to move SBI, insurance, pension reform bills-official (Updates with quotes, background)

By Tony Munroe and Rajesh Kumar Singh

NEW DELHI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - India will push ahead with financial sector reforms as they will not destablise growth and Asia's third-largest economy can absorb a welcome rise in foreign investment flows, a top policy adviser said on Wednesday.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of Planning Commission and a close aide to the prime minister, also said food price inflation was a concern but it should moderate by the end of this year.

Addressing the annual economic editors' conference, Ahluwalia said a rise in foreign investment flows was good for the economy, but authorities would keep a vigil on short-term debt flows.

"I think we can absorb those foreign investment flows. Obviously we will remain watchful on flows of short-term debt and so on but a revival of foreign investment flows is very welcome," he said.

Between April and September, the first half of the 2009/10 fiscal year, foreign direct investment was in excess of $15 billion and portfolio investment were almost the same, Trade Minister Anand Sharma said separately. [ID:nBMA006347]

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