Reforms Package For Industry By Month-End
Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda admitted yesterday that measures for simplifying investmentÿ20procedures and hasten industrial growth will be delayed by a fortnight.
Although the government had promised at the end of last year to unveil reforms by January 15, Gowda said the measures will be announced just before he leaves for the Davos Economic Summit early next month.
Gowda reaffirmed his pledge to launch the package while inaugurating the Confederation of Indian Industries Partnership Summit here yesterday. He added that a five-and-a-half-hour meeting with industry and trade chiefs at the end of last year had already turned around the two-month decline in the capital market. The market has started looking up after the December 31 meeting. It should climb further after we announce the measures for streamlining procedures and ensuring a faster industrial growth, Gowda said.
The Prime Minister was responding to a question from CII president Shekhar Datta on whether the government shared the industrys expectations of change following the December meeting. Gowda said: We had asked the captains of industry and trade to speak without fear and they did so. We took note of all their suggestions which will help us take the decisions.
Areas identified for action in the meeting included full convertibility of the rupee, cutting interest rates, reviewing the minimum alternate tax and helping domestic companies to compete with foreign rivals.
Gowda also confirmed that some key infrastructure areas had been identified for private-sector participation. The government has meager internal resources and may not be able to develop all the infrastructure areas, he said. Yet, industry and economy cannot develop without a proper infrastructure.
The government welcomes private-sector investment in areas like ports, airports, highways, tourism and communication for faster development of the economy.
Gowda said the country needed $10 billion foreign investment every year. The government had speeded up its approval procedures, he said, clearing investments worth $6.7 billion in the last three to four months. A foreign investment promotion council had also been set up, he said.
Stating that Indo-British trade links continue to diversify, Gowda said, Our colonial links are gone, but we do want cordiality to grow. We would expect the British companies to have close relations with their Indian partners and also share the latest technological developments.
Fixers fixed
The Prime Minister drew tremendous applause from a 1,000-strong audience when he said the regime of middlemen facilitating deals between the government and industry was finally over. There is no need for middlemen. India has suffered a lot in the past because of them, the Prime Minister told disbelieving captains of industry, many of whom have been used to dealing with the government only through middlemen.
The recently concluded defence deals - the biggest defence shopping in Indias history - has been done in complete transparency and without any middleman, the Prime Minister said.
He said the governments major priority in the last few months had been to ensure total transparency in its functioning.
The government also aims to delegate more powers to the provincial governments. The recent decision to let states decide on whether to clear all power projects up to 250mw was one example of this, he said, adding that simplifying procedures and cutting red tape was vital to reduce corruption.Our Bureau