India 'condemning' millions to stay poor: L N Mittal

Joining the likes of N R Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji to blame the Indian government for policy inaction, UK-based NRI billionaire L N Mittal said the country is potentially condemning millions to remain in poverty by not helping industrialisation.

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"Industrialisation is an important part of every major economy's development and by risking progress in this way, India is potentially condemning hundreds of millions to remain in poverty longer than previously anticipated," Chairman and CEO of world's largest steel-maker ArcelorMittal said.

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Addressing the World Steel Dynamics conference he said, "the Indian government must concentrate on smoothening the path for foreign investors ...there are understandable challenges in India relating to land acquisition and raw materials, but nevertheless the government must find a way to overcome these road-blocks more swiftly."

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ArcelorMittal is waiting for six years to implement its $ 30 billion mostly in Odisha and Jharkhand states, facing problems relating to land acquisition and regulatory issues.

Mittal made these comments at a time when global rating agencies like Fitch and Standard and Poor's have downgraded India's rating outlook.

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Wipro chief Azim Premji recently told global investment analysts that the country was leaderless and Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy said India was in a sorry state of affairs.

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Mittal said, "I hope that they are able to re-focus and return to the higher level of growth rates."

While in the long run, the country enjoys considerable opportunities and requires enormous infrastructure investment, "... its economy is experiencing some quite serious challenge," he said.