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Reforms need joint Govt, industry drive, says PM

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, Nov. 26

THE Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, today asserted that India would ``pursue with determination'' the next generation of reforms even as it entails ``difficult decisions''.

Inaugurating the three-day India Economic Summit-2000, organised here jointly by the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry, Mr Vajpayee called for ``strengthening the partnership between the Government and industry so as to achiev e a lot''.

If industry and Government entered into this partnership now, the image of globalisation would change and globalisation would no longer be perceived as a threat, but as an opportunity, he said. ``We will globalise to India's advantage,'' he contended.

The Prime Minister called for the foreign investors to have ``a long-term commitment to India''. Assuring the captains of industry that the Government would persist with evolving ``a national consensus'' on the direction of reforms, he pleaded that the a genda for economic change should not be ``unduly politicised.''

While recognising the inevitability of globalisation, Mr Vajpayee said, ``We need to ponder whether globalisation is increasingly being perceived as elite-driven, conferring benefits on large corporates while bypassing millions of the poor and the margin alised.''

He stated that the privilege of being a global player must be matched with the onus of making ``the process universally acceptable by making it universally beneficial.''

Outlining a nine-point agenda on what he considered to be the obligations of industry, Mr Vajpayee said that even as the Government works to evolve a forward-looking Companies Act and competition laws, it sought the ``strong'' adherence of industry to `` free and fair'' competition in the interest of the consumers.

``Let us not follow the path of monopolies and cartels that serve the cause of a few at the cost of many,'' he said.

The Prime Minister said the country wants to see the corporate sector implement higher standards of corporate governance. ``Each Indian and foreign company has a duty to be transparent, just as Governments -- at the Centre and the States -- are trying to ensure transparency in policy-making. High standards of corporate governance will enhance the people's confidence in the private sector,'' Mr Vajpayee said.

Further, he urged the private sector to invest more in human resource development, as it would be beneficial in the long run, and felt that with technology driving change, it will be to everyone's benefit to focus on research and development, innovation and technology building.

The Prime Minister also called on the gathering to consider India as a ``profitable location not merely for out-sourcing information technology services, but also for manufacturing''.

Mr Vajpayee took the opportunity to remind the investors of the potential which exists in the rural sector. ``Reach out to the rural sector not merely because it is large, but because the needs of rural India cannot be bypassed. The rural sector needs hi gh-quality products to derive the advantages of globalisation,'' the Prime Minister said.

On education and healthcare concerns, Mr Vajpayee felt that Indian industry as a whole must deepen its involvement in these two crucial social sectors.

``No Government can alone meet the massive challenge of providing education and healthcare facilities to every family in a billion-strong country without all-round cooperation,'' the Prime Minister said.

Pic.: An official steps in to assist the Prime Minister, Mr A.B. Vajpayee, at the inauguration of the India Economic Summit in the Capital on Sunday. To his right are the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, and Mr Claude Smadja, MD, World Economic Forum .

Picture by Ramesh Sharma