NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that the country`s widening divide between rich and poor was a factor that encouraged crime and caused difficulties for police.

Singh told a conference of police chiefs in New Delhi that national security was being threatened by an array of challenges, including tension in Kashmir, a worsening Maoist insurgency and criminal activity.

"Growing economic disparities, and regional, linguistic and ethnic differences" were among the problems faced by police, Singh said.

"The growing presence of non-state actors, fundamentalist groups and left-wing extremists has further complicated matters," he added.

India`s economy has been expanding between about seven and nine percent a year since 2003, with luxury shopping malls and new housing developments springing up in urban areas.

However, malnutrition among under-fives stands at 43.5 percent -- worse than sub-Saharan Africa -- and only nine percentage points less than when India`s "economic miracle" began in 1991.

Singh also said that the Maoist rebels, who draw much of their support from poor farmers, had to be tackled by promoting economic development in insurgency-hit areas.

He said the rebels were "our own people" and that his government was determined to make "special efforts to develop the areas affected by naxal (Maoist) violence."

The Maoist rebels have been active across central and eastern India for decades but have stepped up their armed campaign over the last year, launching a series of deadly strikes against police and paramilitary forces.

They reject the rule of India`s national and state governments, and have tapped into deepening resentment among rural communities and indigenous tribes who have been left behind by the country`s recent rapid economic progress.

BDST: 13:20 HRS, August 26, 2010