The Hindu Business Line : Chamber presses for common Indian market

THE President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mr R.K. Somany, has said that the apex body had recently briefed the BJP President, Mr Venkaiah Naidu, over the need for having a `common Indian market'.

Speaking at a meeting organised by the Consultative Committee of City Chambers of Commerce here, he said that the economic market in the country was "very seriously fragmented".

He said that the industry would like to have VAT, as scheduled, on April 1, 2003, and expressed hope that the recent agreement among various states to have a uniform sales tax rate of 12 per cent, would pave the way for the same.

Mr Somany said that the Assocham had also impressed upon Mr Naidu two important points in relation to Budget making, viz., "the Government has to put money in infrastructure" and "there has to be money in the hands of people to spend".

He agreed with the comments of an earlier speaker, Mr G. Narayanaswamy, President of Hindustan Chamber of Commerce, that the Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, was not meeting various industry bodies face-to-face, for pre-Budget discussions, which was "not the best way of doing things".

Earlier, Mr Narayanaswamy cautioned that the country ought not to be overly dependent upon foreign investment for development.

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