The following is
the text of the speech of the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari
Vajpayee at the inauguration of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations
of FICCI here today:
"Congratulations
FICCI, on turning 75. And I’ll add: Jeevem Sharadah Shatam!
May you live a hundred more years and well beyond.
Yes, FICCI has indeed
come a long way. It has been a proud and eventful journey. You
were born with the spirit of nationalism during the Freedom Movement.
You were born with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi. Not many institutions
can claim such distinguished origins.
Whatever be the changes
that take place in the global and domestic scenarios from time
to time, the flame of nationalism in business and economy, as
in all other spheres of national life, must always burn bright.
I do hope that its light will continue to guide FICCI in its onward
journey, as it has in the past.
Friends, this
forum gives me an opportunity to share my thoughts with you on
some important issues regarding our economic growth, and the overall
context in which this growth is taking place.
I would like to share
with you my conviction that, despite all the odds, the nation
is on the move, the economy is on the move and that we are going
in the right direction. I would also like to share my confidence
with you that India will move faster, and that the Indian economy
will do better, much better, in the time to come.
This conviction and
confidence is rooted in objective reality.
Take, for example,
the fact that there is now complete political stability in the
country. Stability is the crucial, if intangible pre-condition
for the success of all governmental and non-governmental measures
for economic and social development.
We have demonstrated
that coalition governments at the Centre can be stable, can work
well, and can take the nation forward.
You have also seen
how we conducted free and fair polls in Jammu & Kashmir, braving
all the odds. Gujarat, too, has voted yesterday, without any violent
incidents and with a big voter turnout.
These are not merely
our achievements. These are the achievements of Indian democracy.
They show the growing resilience of our democratic system. This
augurs well for the long-term outlook for the Indian economy.
Not only India’s
democracy, but India’s economy too has become more resilient.
In spite of several adverse developments -- both internal and
external -- our economy has demonstrated its inherent strength
by emerging as one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
In fact, over the past two decades, India’s GDP growth rate has
been higher than that of any democracy over a similar time period,
Japan excepted.
All of us know some
recent adverse developments, but it helps to recapitulate. After
fourteen successive good monsoons, we had scanty rainfall during
the current year. This has somewhat affected growth prospects
in agriculture.
Besides, we were
forced to deploy our troops on the borders to send a strong message
to our western neighbour. The message was, and it continues to
be, clear and simple: that we are determined to end cross-border
terrorism and to protect the unity and integrity of India, whatever
it takes. Indeed, today is the first anniversary of the terrorist
attack on our Parliament, which forced us to take that decision.
And I can tell you
that the message is working. We’ll make sure that it works.
Besides these developments,
which resulted in a partial slowdown in the domestic economy,
we must also take note of the overall global economic downturn.
Global recovery has been much slower than expected, thereby creating
difficulties for several developing economies, including India.
Our economy has successfully
weathered all these difficulties. In the past, limited rainfall,
and outbreak of drought-like conditions, would inevitably lead
to pressure on prices. It hasn’t happened this year.
Inflation has been
low, balance of payments strong, the country has abundant food
stocks, the manufacturing sector has strongly revived, export
growth has been heartening, and our forex reserves of more than
13 months import cover are matched by very few countries, developed
or developing.
All of you are also
aware that, in spite of many impediments, our Government has not
wavered from its commitment to economic reforms – be it on the
legislative front or on the implementation front.
You have seen how
we are trying to carry everyone along – through dialogue and consultations,
through depoliticising developmental issues, and through a constant
effort to expand the area of consensus on economic reforms. In
a democracy, this process cannot be bypassed.
I am happy that Shri
Lodha referred to some of our initiatives and achievements.
For example, three
years ago, I announced the National Highway Development Project
at an AGM of FICCI. Today, its rapid implementation is there for
all to see. Upon its time-bound completion, the NHDP will have
revolutionised the road and transport infrastructure in our country.
It is already generating daily employment for 2.5 lakh construction
workers and 10,000 supervisors; the indirect employment it has
created is several times greater.
The NHDP has proved
to be a highly instructive model of public-private partnership,
enabling the raising of substantial funds from non-budgetary sources.
I want to assure you that by following this model, we shall replicate
its success in many other critical areas of physical and social
infrastructure, such as railways, power, urban and rural infrastructure,
health, education, tourism, etc. We are developing the appropriate
model contracts in these sectors, and once the models are validated,
public-private-partnerships will be the standard mode of implementation
of the 10th Plan projects and schemes.
What the NHDP has
also shown is that India can now think big, and can also implement
big.
We have proved this
in other areas, too.
- In the first 50 years after Independence,
only one crore and eighty-six lakh telephone connections were
sanctioned. In the past four years alone, two crore and eighty-two
lakh telephone connections have been provided.
- Or look at the silent revolution
taking place in housing construction. HUDCO sanctioned about
Rs. 11,000 crore for housing construction in 30 years from 1970
to 1999. In contrast, in the last three years alone, the sanctioned
amount has exceeded this figure.
These are not merely
the Government’s achievements. These are your achievements, these
are our economy’s achievements, these are India’s achievements.
Captains of
Industry – and friends from the media who are present here, today
I make an appeal to all of you. Let us talk about the good things
happening in the economy with pride, joy and self-confidence.
Let us not have only negative news and negative comments hog the
headlines. It doesn’t help anybody. It only spreads cynicism and
pessimism, which are malignant viruses that weaken our national
energy, dissipate our resolve, and undermine our sense of purpose.
Let us not let trivial
issues, petty rivalries and old habits of "managing the system"
through unethical practices vitiate the business and political
environment and damage the interface between business and the
Government.
In saying that we
focus more on the positive side of what is happening in the country,
I do not in the least wish to suggest that we should overlook
the shortcomings in the system.
No, these must be
brought to light, as our friends from the media do persistently.
Otherwise, how can shortcomings be set right?
There must be criticism,
too, where criticism is due. Otherwise, how can accountability
be fixed? Yet, such criticism should always be expressed in a
constructive spirit.
Let me confess that
I am myself as dissatisfied as any of you over the slow progress
in several areas.
The persisting problems
in fiscal consolidation at the Centre and in States worry me.
The slow implementation of power sector reforms worries me. The
slow progress in labour reforms worries me. The pace of our infrastructure
investments worries me. We need to move rapidly in these areas.
I am also deeply
concerned that the systems, procedures, rules and regulations
in the Government have still not been sufficiently reformed to
serve the needs of rapid economic growth. We may have done away
with the License-Permit-Quota Raj, but the Inspector Raj still
survives. Many entrepreneurs – especially those in the small and
medium-scale sectors – are routinely harassed and humiliated under
this Inspector Raj. This must end.
I am told that we
can increase the GDP growth rate by at least a couple of percentage
points without any additional financial investments, but by carrying
out necessary governance reforms at various levels.
In this context,
I am happy to inform you that we have recently taken an important
initiative. A committee was set up under Shri V. Govindrajan,
Secretary, IPP, to analyse the reasons for time and cost overruns
of public sector projects, and the regulatory impediments to investment
by the private and public sectors at the Central, State and local
government levels.
The Committee was
helped by industry associations and professional management consultants.
It has made wide-ranging recommendations for re-engineering the
project cycle for public investments, both for physical and social
sector development, to ensure greater professionalisation of the
identification, preparation, approval and post-evaluation stages
of the cycle. It has also detailed a process for re-engineering
all relevant regulatory systems at the Central, State and local
government levels, to ensure transparency, unambiguous decision
rules, minimizing documentation, and ensuring accountability.
The process would require that the best global practices are taken
on board, and the revised processes are embodied in e-governance
systems.
The Committee’s recommendations,
which are now under implementation, will have a profound effect
on the execution of physical and social infrastructure projects,
and transform the character of business-government interface.
In addition, the
Finance Minister has initiated, in his own silent but determined
way, several other efforts at making the tax system more business-friendly,
investor-friendly, and friendly towards the honest tax-payer.
We need your support for the success of these initiatives.
Friends, my
vision, and my mission, is to make our democratic system more
and more development-oriented. This is the basic purpose of
economic and governance reforms. At the same time, we also
have to further democratize our development. The fruits of
development must reach the poor and the underprivileged. The gap
between the haves and have-nots, as also the gap between the developed
and under-developed regions, must be bridged. The economy must
produce more, create more productive employment opportunities
and help our people lead better lives.
This is the basic
expectation from economic reforms. The more this expectation is
met, the more enthusiastically will our people support the agenda
of reforms. And the more vigorously we implement this agenda,
the more surely will we be able to meet our people’s expectations.
Let this Virtuous
Cycle of Reforms-Driven Development guide the activities of both
the Government and Indian Business.
With these words,
I inaugurate the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of FICCI and wish
it all success in its future endeavours.
Thank you".
