The Hindu Business Line : `Indian reforms on right track'

The Minister for IT and Communications, Mr Arun Shourie, and the French Minister for Industry, Ms Nicole Fontaine, on their way to attend a meeting of Indo-French joint working group on information technology and telecommunications in the Capital on Wednesday. — Ramesh Sharma

New Delhi , March 10

THE French Minister for Industry, Energy and Telecommunications, Ms Nicole Fontaine, has said that the economic reforms initiated by the Indian Government were on the right track and would eventually lead to an "economic boom".

Addressing a meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Wednesday, Ms Fontaine said that the new found dynamism that India was displaying in the global context was an amplifier to the fact that the reforms are on the right track, resulting in a new-found confidence.

The Minister said that bilateral trade, which had tremendous scope, was far below potential, with France being the eighth largest investor in India. Ms Fontaine urged businessmen of both the countries to capitalise on the friendship between the two countries.

Ms Fontaine said that she was in India to study and examine with her Indian counterparts, the complementarities of both the countries and augment bilateral trade. In this context, she met the Minister of Communications & IT and Disinvestment, Mr Arun Shourie, and discussed ways for strategic partnership.

The Minister announced that French telecommunication major Alcatel was developing IT related services in Chennai and Bangalore along with Indian companies. She said that such joint ventures would open other avenues for cooperation.

The visiting Minister however said that telecommunications and IT were not the only promising sector and identified energy and transport as the other potential sectors for joint collaboration. Ms Fontaine cited the example of French cooperation with Delhi Metro during the first phase of its completion. The Minister added that there was also scope for cooperation in the small and medium enterprises. On the much-debated issue of outsourcing, the French Minister said that the issue evoked a lot of passion and emotion as it was associated with loss of jobs. She said that "in reality, the term is very confusing," and concluded that she disapproved outsourcing if it was at the cost of losing jobs.

However, Ms Fontaine said that she was in favour of investing in fruitful enterprises in India as a means of collaboration. She added that industrial cooperation would benefit both the countries.