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Sinha calls for overseas investment at global meet

Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha made a strong pitch for overseas investment at a global business meeting on Monday in Bangalore and touted India as one of the world's fastest growing economies.

"We are building on the economic reforms initiated in 1991. Without fear of contradiction, I can say that the programme is being carried forward," Sinha told about 400 foreign and 250 Indian businessmen at the Global Investors Meet.

He said the country has left behind growth rates of around 3.5 per cent in the 1980s.

"There has been a paradigm shift since then. In the first decade of the 21st century we propose to grow at the rate of eight to 10 per cent," Sinha said.

"India is recognised as one of the fastest growing economies of the world. It is because of the prudent policies that the government has put in place that we will continue to grow," he said.

Sinha said a temporary slowdown, which had gripped the economy during the past three years, was abating.

"The Indian industry is coming out of that bad phase. All sectors of the industry are doing well and we had registered 8 per cent growth in fiscal ending March 2000," Sinha said.

Exports had grown 11 per cent in dollar terms, while imports increased only 10 per cent despite a steep hike in prices of crude oil and petrol during last year, he said.

"It has been possible to keep the current account deficit under 1.5 per cent and India was able to add to her reserves," Sinha said.

The finance minister cited the example of the southern state of Karnataka, of which Bangalore is capital, as an example of how India's second phase of market reforms were going ahead.

Karnataka is eyeing investments worth $ 800 million during the two-day meet.

The second generation reforms focusses on eliminating subsidies, opening up the financial sector and privatising state-owned utilities.

Sinha expressed concern about the country's inadequate infrastructure, saying it was a major hurdle to growth. He called upon global investors to help improve India's roads, ports and airports.

"Unless we develop world class infrastructure it is not possible to achieve the growth rates we are aiming for," he said.

Investors from the US, Germany, UK, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Singapore and Hong Kong attended the two-day meet along with senior Indian business leaders to bid for state government projects and set up new ventures.

Foreign companies such as Enron Corporation, De Beers, General Electric, Motorola, Toyota Motor Corporation and Rio Tinto are among the major companies who have shown an interest in Karnataka.