IMF praises India for labor reforms
By agencies   |   Friday, 15 April 2005, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI:The IMF has complimented the Indian government for their clear agenda on labor market and other reforms. "I want to compliment the authorities and also the rest responsible for the implementation of the new VAT regime," IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato said. "We think that the opening of the country, the financial sector is certainly needed and welcome. We see that the budgetary framework of the Indian government is a serious one, a clear one, and we see also that monetary policy and the credibility of anti-inflationary policy is well rooted, as we also commend the authorities for their financial strength. "I also want to mention that managing their exchange rate flexibility has also been very successful," he said. Labor challenges in India, he said, are very important. India, by all accounts, will need to create in the next ten years a hundred million jobs just to stay at the actual level of unemployment. "It is a very challenging horizon. In that respect, labor reform, labor flexibility could help certainly India not only to create more employment, but also to reap the benefits from such opportunities - for instance, textiles - that are offered to the Indian economy right now, to the Indian society."

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