The Hindu Business Line : ‘Incredible India is a credible economy’

“(The Govt will) not hesitate to take the strongest possible measures against hoarding, against profiteering, whether it is in food or in cement or in steel.” — Kamal Nath

P. S. Suryanarayana

Singapore, April 4 Singapore’s Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, on Friday hailed India as one of the two fastest growing economies in the world, the other being China; and the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, said the “incredible India” of robust images was also a “credible” economy on the move now.

They were participating in a series of events organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with India’s High Commission here, in the name and style of ‘Incredible India@60’ as a sequel to a similar series in New York last year.

The day’s events in Singapore were punctuated by a customised fashion show, a discussion on ‘India’s Century’, and a business conference on the Indian knowledge economy as also the opportunities and challenges of doing business in and with India.

The CII President, Mr Sunil Mittal, foresaw India’s emergence as the world’s third largest economy, in real terms, after China and the US, by 2040. And, by 2035, India would be a $35-trillion economy.

India’s High Commissioner to Singapore, Dr S. Jaishankar, narrated how India was navigating its economic progress in an ambience of democracy. Singapore’s choice for the celebration of India’s 60 years of independence was appropriate, considering the City-State’s position as “a key gateway for us.”

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the events, Mr Kamal Nath said the new foreign trade policy, due in about a week, would be infused with the “spirit” of generating employment.

On the impact that the current US economic slowdown might have on India, given the prospects of a perceived (global) recession, he emphasised the need to “guard against the frenzy effect” of such forecasts. The Indian economy, he maintained, was being sustained by its own internal-demand-related “momentum” and “resilience”.

The “growth effect,” too, “is moving across India,” and the Government was now fine-tuning its policies to meet the needs of those below the poverty line in such domestic and global circumstances. And, he warned that the Government would, therefore, “not hesitate to take the strongest possible measures against hoarding, against profiteering, whether it is in food or in cement or in steel.” Noting that there was no proposal to invoke the stringent Section 18 (G) of the Industrial Development Regulation Act, he said “the cement and steel industries must also ensure that the Government does not look at it.”

On some key external aspects of India’s foreign trade, Mr Kamal Nath said: “Our deadline [for the Doha Round] is May 31, for either putting it on the backburner or really cooking something. I am looking forward to the agriculture paper; the US and the European Union must recognise that unless they come up with something on the table, there is no way we can have progress in this [sector].”

He said India’s free trade agreement with the Association of South East Asian Nations would be concluded in two or three months’ time. And, the US economic slowdown might only affect India’s gem and jewellery sector and not apparels. “But, with an increasing demand in other countries, probably that space which we are losing [in the US] will be available to us in other countries.”

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