TONE UP JUDICIAL SYSTEM CREATE SAFETY NETS TO DRIVE LABOUR REFORMS ICC
01 Dec 2006NEW DELHI, December 1, 2006. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has advised the Indian government to create a well-functioning judicial system for providing confidence to investors, provide social safety nets to help ease the resistance to labor reforms, and release resources from over-protected and subsidized sectors to finance the building of infrastructure.
Addressing the ICC India-FICCI seminar on ‘India and the World Economy’ here today, the Chairman of ICC, Mr. Marcus Wallenburg cautioned that to sustain India’s high growth rate and make it truly a global player, it would have to open up sectors such as retail, banking and insurance, cut red tape, beef up infrastructure to boost manufacturing, bridge the gap in the availability of graduates for the growing knowledge-intensive industries and create conditions conducive to faster inflow of FDI.
Mr. Wallenburg said: “While India’s services boom fills the world with admiration, it does not tell the whole story about India. The entire IT industry in India employs less than 2 million people, out of a workforce of 400 million. For India to sustain its growth rate and truly become a major global player, it needs to expand its business capacity and replicate in other sectors what it has achieved in the software industry.”
The ICC chief put much store by India’s leadership in helping to restart the Doha Round of trade negotiations. He, however, noted that from a global perspective, it seems that India is committed to trade liberalization, but remains wary of binding, multilateral obligations. “A successful Doha Round would bring immense benefit on a global scale but it is clear that there is reticence at the domestic level which we need to overcome,” Mr. Wallenburg pointed out.
Mr. Yogendra Kumar Modi, President, ICC said the development of India’s infrastructure posed a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge lay in establishing a network of roads, airports, seaports and other core sectors, while infrastructure development was a real opportunity for investors, foreign and Indian.
Expressing all-round optimism, Mr. Hari Shankar Singhania, Past Chairman, ICC pointed out that economically, socially and politically, India’s growth and development was sustainable, not a bubble. He alluded to the rapid transformation in the economy, particularly in the mindsets of the stakeholders. The demographic profile of the country, availability of intellectual talent and skilled manpower provides confidence for the future, he said.
The panel discussion on ‘India in the World Economy – Opportunities & Challenges saw the participation of Mr. Saroj Kumar Poddar, Vice President, ICC-India & President, FICCI; Mr. Onkar S Kanwar, CMD, Apollo Tyres; Mr. Anil K Agarwal, President, ASSOCHAM; Mr. Uriel Lynn, President, Federation of Israeli Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Rajan Bharti Mittal, Joint MD, Bharti Enterprises; Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, President, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International; Mr. Shivinder Mohan Singh, Group MD, Fortis Healthcare; and Mr. David Appasamy, Chief Communication Officer, Sify.
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