India Inc's unqualified thumbs up for Rahul Gandhi

India Inc has given an unqualified thumbs-up to Congress party vice president Rahul Gandhi's speech at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's 86th AGM here.

"At a time, when questions have been raised about India's commitment to reforms and growth, Shri Gandhi's comments are music to the ears of investors, who I am sure would draw confidence from his speech," Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Kris Gopalakrishnan said in a statement here Sunday.

"CII believes that the Congress Vice President has boldly touched on the issue of corruption and this is a subject on which Industry has been vocal - calling for measures to ensure that more technology is used to reduce human interfaces in aspects of governance, where rent seeking can creep in," it said.

Asserting that poverty cannot be fought without growth, Gandhi told the industry chamber Saturday: "I don't believe there is a trade off between investments in the social sector and economic growth. It is today's investments in people that create tomorrow's markets. It is today's markets that allow us to invest in our people's future."

"Maintaining robust growth has enabled to invest in people. In (almost) 10 years (of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government) almost a third of India's poor have risen above the poverty line," he had added.

Welcoming Gandhi's speech for addressing the "core issue" of focusing on the manufacturing sector to create a sustainable economic development model, CII said: "A competitive and vibrant manufacturing sector in India would ensure that episodic spikes on the current account front can be avoided."

The CII specially appreciated the work of the Cabinet Committee on Investments (CCI) in speedily clearing large projects.

"CII is happy that a National Resource Investment SPV (special purpose vehicle) is being considered by the government which is in line with our recommendations that projects should be offered for bidding after all clearances are in place," it said.