The Hindu Business Line : Smadja prescribes agenda for strong India

Mr CLAUDE Smadja, President of Smadja Associates and Strategic Advisory and Principal Adviser of the World Economic Forum, has prescribed a seven-point agenda for India to cash in on the upbeat mood of India Inc, and the breaking of thaw in Indo-Pak relations.

Addressing the Plenary Session on `India's window of opportunity' at the Partnership Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he said India had to create a strong manufacturing sector. "The sector's contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined. For a country of India's size, it should have a vibrant manufacturing sector," he said.

Elaborating on the other six priorities, he said Indian corporates should go global. "Going abroad is not an option, it's a necessity," he said.

To achieve this, India should have developed a strong global networking power. India would have the need for friends and advocates to champion its cause globally.

"Going global means attracting more foreign direct investment . Also, it is important to forge global, regional and bilateral agreements," he said.

He asked the corporates to strive for higher value, efficiency, productivity and quality. "There should be an across-the-board strategy to have an enhanced productivity," he said.

He felt that China should not be looked at as a threat. "It is an opportunity," he observed.

The remaining four priority areas, according to him, should be bolstering infrastructure, increasing the agriculture productivity, focussing on human development indicators and burgeoning fiscal deficit.

Stating that India fared poor on important human development indicators such as education and health, he said the claims to achieve complete universal primary education didn't match with the efforts.

Twenty per cent of children were illiterate in India whereas China reported 100 per cent illiteracy in this segment. To achieve the literacy target, India needs to spend five per cent of GDP. On the health front, India needed to increase the spend from the present one per cent to three per cent.

"We don't see any move in that direction," he said.

"The recovery in global economy would pave the way for increased flow of investments into India," he said.