The Hindu Business Line : India's GDP may touch $650 b: Report

THE Financial Times (FT) has estimated India's total gross domestic product (GDP) in 2004 at nearly $650 billion. This was revealed in `India Awakes', a special FT report on India released at the World Economic Forum meeting at Davos in Switzerland on Friday.

"The service sector has continued its remarkable expansion... there has also been a strong performance from restructured manufacturing industries and the agricultural sector", said Mr John Ridding, Editor & Publisher of the Financial Times in Asia. The special report released by FT is a collaborative effort with the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).

The report, according to a WEF statement here, examines India's economic revival and includes detailed cross-sectoral economic analyses by FT specialists.

It also includes a special message by the Minister for Commerce & Industry, Law & Justice, Mr Arun Jaitley. In his message titled: `India: Nation on the move', Mr Jaitley talks in detail about the country's "profound transition" that "encompasses both economic liberalisation and social empowerment of millions of its people".

"We are seeking investment into India because we believe investment to be a key factor in our economic transformation," he stated.

In a special interview with FT, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had said: "We have sought to implement our economic liberalisation with public accountability and a social conscience. This makes our reforms more enduring and stable."

The FT report especially focuses on the country's competitive auto components industry, the buoyant markets, and reforms in the agricultural sector. It also commends India's approach to its foreign policy and economic diplomacy with a special reference to increasing trade ties with China.

Mr Jaitley, in his message, has stressed on the opportunities in India beyond information technology. "There are the new vistas of tourism, by which, I mean essentially medical tourism, educational services and leisure tourism, which are opening exciting new avenues and will not only enhance the GDP growth for India but also contribute significantly towards achieving a consistent eight per cent growth over the next two decades."

The report was distributed to all delegates at the conference and was made available in all flights into Davos and all hotels where the conference is taking place.