The Hindu Business Line : Govt cautious on growth projections: Chidambaram<br>Blames sluggishness in coal, power

GROWTH sluggishness in the vital sectors of coal and electricity has made the Government a little more cautious in making higher GDP growth projections (more than the projected overall 7 per cent) for the second half of the current fiscal, while doing the mid-year review of the economy, said the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, here on Saturday. He was addressing captains of industry and the Consular Corps in the city.

Speaking at the Business Seminar organised by the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (WBIDC), jointly with the Consular Corps of Kolkata, Mr Chidambaram said, "We have coal reserves for at least another 200-300 years, and yet, do not have a proper framework for efficient exploitation of the mineral".

He said the issues with regard to both coal and electricity were highly resolvable, as all that is needed was "sound business logic and good economics". The Finance Minister assured industry that the issues were being addressed, and solutions would be found soon.

Pointing out that the Government of India had consciously adopted the "Look East" policy, with Kolkata and West Bengal in mind, as it would throw up tremendous business opportunities for industry in the region, the minister said many new initiatives under this policy had been taken.

These were the FTA with Thailand, the framework agreement with Asean (cited as a win-win for both parties), Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Singapore (and now the efforts for a similar pact with Asean) and the on-going talks for an FTA with Japan, likely to be concluded soon. India, as a matter of policy, was now forging closer economic ties with countries which lie to the East of India, and Bengal can only gain from this, he added.

Urging investors in West Bengal not to miss this opportunity, as the State had the potential to emerge as a major financial centre in the country, Mr Chidambaram said businessmen should come out of this "Boxwallah" mindset (a narrow kind of thinking), and think and act globally. "After all, capital and technology can be procured from anywhere, as these, combined with human resources, are extremely mobile." He assured the state Chief Minister of all help from the Centre to make West Bengal an attractive destination for investments, as the State had the potential to emerge as "a power-house of knowledge and intellectual capital".

Referring to the current crop of business leaders in Kolkata as relatively young, and tech-savvy, Mr Chidambaram said many of the family-controlled businesses, though solid, were a little stodgy, and needed to induct more and more qualified professionals into their organisations.

Earlier, Mr Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Sons Ltd, said, the Tata Group was now looking afresh at Bengal, with a renewed focus on future business investments. Describing West Bengal as the most business-friendly State in the country at the moment, he said the Tatas were now actively considering Bengal for setting up manufacturing facilities in the auto ancillaries sector.

According to Mr K.V. Kamath, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank Ltd, a major economic transformation was now taking place at the all-India level mainly owing to three positives.