Industry veterans praised the contributions of South India to the Indian economy at the CII-Southern Region Annual Regional Meeting ‘The next wave of growth: South India' conference.

Mr S. Gopalakrishnan (also known as Kris by his friends and colleagues), Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Infosys Technologies and Chairman of CII (Southern Region), said, “From 2000 to 2010, India attracted $178 billion investments and out of this, the South saw investments of $75 billion. We have a GDP of $1.4 trillion and the South accounts for 22 per cent.” Mr Gopalakrishnan said that the South, which contributes $300 billion to the nation's GDP now, can contribute $700 billion by 2016.

McKinsey presented a report titled ‘Retaining the Edge: Sustaining South India's Growth Momentum' and Mr Ananth Narayanan, Partner, McKinsey (Chennai) said that while South India's $300 billion GDP exceeds that of all but the top 30 economies of the world, there was cause for concern because it was not keeping pace at present. “In terms of real GDP growth from 2005 to 2010, India stands at 8.7 per cent, and southern States like Karnataka (8.5 per cent), Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu (7.4 per cent each) lag behinds the country's growth,” he pointed out. He said that if South India wanted to maintain growth, it had to concentrate on a focused cluster approach, physical infrastructure, social infrastructure, sustainable development, and rigorous implementation and execution.

Mr Hari S. Bhartia, President, CII, said that the prevailing scenario was worrying. “Inflation and high interest rate are a cause for concern. We should not take growth for granted,” he said.

Mr Arun Maira, Member of the Planning Commission, said that the manufacturing sector should do better. “Even before the liberalisation of the 1990s, when India grew at the Hindu rate of growth of 4 per cent, manufacturing was growing around 2 per cent to 3 per cent faster than the economy. But now, it is lagging.” Stating that we should get people involved in initiatives, he asked, “Is it just the Government and the industry sitting across the table?” Explaining the importance of inclusivity, he said, “We have to recognise that we are discordant democrats. India is not a corporation; it is a country.”

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