Gandhinagar, Wednesday: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today called for pulling India out of the present economic crisis and particularly the Current Account Deficit (CAD) to frame policy, after consultation taking the captains of industry and business into confidence, in the interest of the nation.
Inaugurating the national executive meeting of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at Mahatma Mandir here, Mr. Modi said that India has lost many an opportunity during the last decade in absence of leadership and direction. There is need to regain people’s confidence in leadership in every sector during the coming decade.
“If we decide,” he said, “we can change the pitiable condition of Indian economy. We have to take up the responsibility and show commitment.”
Mr. Modi stressed on the need for the urgency of preparing plan for human resource development, keeping possibilities of India’s potential in view. Citing the efforts of Mahatma Gandhi, he said, we have to augment our capacity take the fruits of development to the last person in the last mile.
Welcoming nearly 100 representatives of FICCI assembled here from all over the country, he said that there was no attempt, no talks about frame policies and strategies, optimum utilization of natural resources during the second half of the 20th Century. There was a ray of hope at the turn of the 21st Century, but it was too short lived. Lack of trust has become the biggest bane for a large country like India. Policy paralysis
Mr. Modi exuded confidence that Gujarat model has the capacity to take the country out of gloom and bring about the change. India has to take bold decisions, change the mindset and system and leadership. There is need to empower common man, strengthen the rural sector, to increase productivity and value-addition in the manufacturing and service sectors, to create next generation infrastructure facilities and jobs. Sloganeering for socialism is unlikely to serve any purpose. Policy paralysis and wrong policies have crippled the Indian economy. We have to face and not escape from the problems, notwithstanding failed attempts to foil corrections as during his rally at Patna in Bihar.
He said that India’s biggest internal strengths are its democracy and demographic dividends. The need is to deploy them in India’s development, launch skill development among the existing manpower as a mission.
Mr. Modi’s address was followed by question-answer session on wide range of subjects ranging from manufacturing defence equipment to taxation and labour laws reforms. Excerpts:
- Focus on research and technology in manufacturing defence equipment and privatization for self-reliance;
- Labour laws should be made a State Subject. Gujarat’s labour laws ensures almost zero man-days loss because of family-like relation between employers and employees;
- Involving participation of poor in MNREGA;
- Ending ‘tax terrorism’ and holding brainstorming debate on sustainable tax reforms;
- Taking the country out of policy paralysis for economic growth;
- Needed ‘balanced growth’ of agriculture, industry and service sectors for ‘balanced economic growth’; and
- Needed qualitative improvement in health services, introducing preventive healthcare polices.
FICCI President Siddharth Birla presented the outline of the apex trade organisation’s executive committee’s agenda.
