PM promises hard decisions to free economy
Making an all-out attempt to woo US investment to India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday, told nearly two-dozen top American CEOs that India would take all necessary 'hard' decisions to free the economy from bureaucratic controls and assured them that compulsions of coalition politics and Left support will not derail reforms.
Speaking at a luncheon hosted by Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen and NYSE's CEO John A Thain, at the New York Stock Exchange, Singh, in his remarks, where he traced the genesis of India's economic reforms, said, in 1991, "India opened a new chapter in its torturous history," noting that while the country was "always a free economy," it was shackled by "a lot of bureaucratic controls."
"Bureaucracy is like a horse. You can take it in any direction. It all depends on where you want to take it and it depends entirely on the quality of the jockey."
He pledged that the Indian government "will ensure that the bureaucratic process instead of placing hurdles will be an active promoter of foreign investment," and added, "you have my assurance that we have all the instrumentalities in place to carry forward our program," for continuing economic reforms."
"In 1991, we took the momentous decision in that India's future lies in integrating itself to the evolving global economy. Only then can India's vast latent potential be fully realised."
Singh said, "Today, I wish to tell you that we've merely scratched the surface, and the best is yet to come," and noted that vast areas of opportunity for US businesses remain "unexplored and unexploited and it's our duty to exploit that latent potential."
Talking about India GDP growth, Singh said, today, India happens to be one of the fastest growing countries in the world -- growing at an average of over 6 per cent "and our expectation in years to come is that this can go up to 7 to 8 per cent and maybe more."
Singh, while addressing the heavyweights of US companies and conglomerates that account for over $1 trillion in assets, said his presence at the NYSE was especially significant because it signals "the importance I attach to attracting investment to India and of our commitment to capital markets as sources of finance."
The prime minister the first Indian leader to be invited to not only visit the NYSE but also make a keynote address to some of NYSE's listed companies, spoke of how important the United States was to India as a strategic partner, "not only politically but economically, "because it is not only the largest economy in the world and the largest trading nation, but a dynamic, open economy; an engine of growth for the rest of the world through its trade and an unparalled source of investment, technology and skills."
He then wasted no time in making a strong pitch for major US investment in India and why India was such a good story that should be part and parcel of every American company's global investment strategy.
Singh said that besides India being an English-speaking open society where the rule of law reigns supreme, the country offers "an excellent potential R & D base, strong science and technology capabilities and has one of the largest pools of trained technical manpower."
"The low operational costs, a large domestic market, "envisages opportunities in a range of areas", the prime minister noted, and spoke of the success of information technology and related industries like business process outsourcing, which offered "excellent and cost effective opportunities."
He pointed out that "major changes have taken place in the way services are delivered," and added, "technology is leading to the fragmentation of service delivery processes and portions of this could be done at other locations." - Aziz Haniffa
Photograph: Paresh Gandhi
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