Bureaucracy should be growth partner: Kerry

US Secy of State says people, regardless of their languge or creed, should be allowed to protest in peace

Visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday said India can sustain its impressive growth trajectory if its bureaucracy becomes a facilitator and stops being “an expert in setting up roadblocks”.

He also said red tape and lack of transparency were deterrents for investors wanting to do business in India.

Kerry interacted with the students of the Indian Institute of Technology here for over an hour at a Town Hall event, replying to questions ranging from terrorism to intolerance. He is on a three-day visit to attend the second India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue. Kerry might now leave either on Friday or Saturday for China where he will join President Barack Obama for the G-20 Summit.

Kerry and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this afternoon.

Kerry said India was one of the fastest growing economies in the world but there was “still a real question as to whether we are doing so quickly enough” as India needed to create job opportunities for the 13 million youth who enter its labour market every year. "Your entrepreneurs ... urgently need the freedom to pursue new ideas, the ability to start up new businesses without a lot of red tape, and access to infrastructure that makes it easier to translate fresh concepts into successful companies,” Kerry said. "You have to have sensible regulations and your bureaucracy needs to be streamlined and effective — a partner in making decisions, not an expert in setting up roadblocks."

In the morning, Kerry’s scheduled visits to three religious sites, including a mosque and a gurudwara in Delhi’s walled city, was cancelled because of heavy rain and the subsequent traffic snarl. He reached IIT-Delhi an hour late.

In what was resonant of US President Barack Obama’s comments on religious intolerance during his visit to India in January 2015, Kerry said people should be allowed to protest in peace without fear of being jailed regardless of their ethnicity, language or creed. "The US and India will have to keep faith in our democratic values and uphold the freedom that defines our countries," he said.

Kerry identified corruption and bad governance as reasons that left youngsters frustrated. He said a society that does not give equal opportunities to its citizens makes them a potential extremist or terrorist.

“So it also means that we have to build bridges of tolerance and acceptance, compassion, mutual understanding among every religion and sect.” He urged those involved in interfaith efforts to reach out and define tolerance and also the beauty of their religion.

On a question about Pakistan providing sanctuaries to terror outfits, Kerry said Islamabad has to do more to eliminate such havens but said Pakistan itself has also been a victim of terror. Terror groups like Daesh, Al Qaeda, LeT and JeM cannot be fought by a single nation. Kerry also said he believed that the Pakistanis have moved at a greater pace in recent months in its counter-terrorism operations.

On the South China Sea imbroglio, Kerry dismissed any possibility of a military solution. He said China might have rejected the recent ruling of an international tribunal on the dispute but has indicated its willingness to engage with its neighbours.

He said the US had no territorial claims in the region or taken a position on anybody else’s claims. But it was united with other countries that freedom of navigation needed to be respected and that the US will stand with its allies with whom it has defence agreements. TOWARDS STRONGER TIES  

• US to "redouble" its efforts towards India’s early entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
• US "urges" NSG members to support India's candidacy in their “common interest"
• Two sides hoped negotiations between Westinghouse and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India would lead to finalising the contractual arrangements by June 2017 to build six reactors
• No progress on climate talks
• India-US-Afghanistan Trilateral in New York later this year
• Reiterated that defence ties form the bedrock of their bilateral strategic partnership