Industry Shortfall To Be Made Up: Maran

Addressing members of Madras Chamber of Commercial & Industry on the occasion of `Chamber day, the industry minister said the slowdown may have given the impression that the net rise in industrial output may not be as high as in 1995-96, but the 12 per cent target is realistic with the scope of overcoming the shortfall in the subsequent eight months.

Heavy rainfall in certain parts of the country and capacity constraints have resulted in slower production growth in sectors like mining.

In core sectors like steel and petro products, there has been a diversion of demand as imports have become relatively cheaper. Demand for durables, semi-durables and white goods are likely to be better this year compared with the previous period and overall growth rate will be maintained, he said.

 

Maran called upon different chambers to establish effective and formal mechanisms of communication between government and industry.

Giving the example of `deliberation councils that exist in east Asian countries, Maran said such fora will help remove secrecy and murkiness of lobbying, besides making communication between policy-makers and industry effective.

I invite all business chambers to unite in creating deliberation councils as an institution of business - government communication to sustain a business-friendly environment on the models of east Asian countries, he said.

Indias diverse industrial base is a strength but decades of control has allowed the industry to acquire uncommercial habits and structures.

The minister said despite the long-standing demand for delicensing the sugar industry, applicants are not serious and are more keen to pre-empt others from entering the field. He described this attitude as a legacy of the licence raj.

Indian companies must study technologies available with small and medium enterprises in both the US and Europe.

Such contacts will help the industry develop without the fear of multinationals.

As a first step in that direction, the new National Small Industries Corporation has sent a 45-member team from the small-scale sector to South Korea and Taiwan, he said.

The Centre will pursue the twin objectives of sustaining a healthy growth strategy and an activist approach to poverty alleviation while framing policies. The latter is crucial for the reforms to succeed, as evident from the experience of the east and south-east Asian countries, which protect the vulnerable sections of society before embarking on reforms.