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'India can have 10 percent GDP growth'
Friday, 14 November 2003, 20:30 IST
NEW DELHI: South Asia's biggest annual trade fair opened here Friday, with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam saying India can double its economic growth to 10 percent.
The president said this while inaugurating the 23rd India International Trade Fair, which has drawn around 7,000 exhibitors from India and 27 other countries including Pakistan.
"With the five percent growth that we are currently having could be doubled with the right type of management system," Kalam said.
This year, India is projecting a growth of 6.5-7 percent growth buoyed by a good monsoon and high agriculture output.
In a clear sign of thaw in ties between New Delhi and Islamabad despite the occasional exchange of diplomatic rhetoric, Pakistan has set up a major pavilion in the fair with around 40 exhibitors taking part.
There is large national and company level participation also from countries like Brazil, China, Oman, Iran, Russia, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
The fortnight-long fair has tourism and export promotion of the small and medium enterprises as its focus theme this year.
In his address, the technology-oriented president called on Indian manufacturers to be competitive to help the country achieve the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2020.
The law of development is the same for both developed or developing countries because both aspire for the same goals, said Kalam.
"The aspirations of both developed and developing nations are the same. While the developing nations, which are just eight in number, strive to retain their place, the developing nations aspire to achieve the status of developed nations. Competitiveness connects the two," said Kalam.
The winner, according to the law of development, is the smarter of the two "based on the quality, cost competitiveness and just in time delivery.
Competitiveness is the parameter that decides," said Kalam, urging the manufacturers to pay more head to the design and quality of the products they make.
Only if the Indian manufacturers are competitive can India realise its target of over eight percent annual growth and "our dream to be among the developed nations will come true," said Kalam, who later visited the technology pavilion at the fair.
The pavilion, set up by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, focuses on the export potential of technologies. Leading public and private organisations including steel manufacturers have displayed their technical prowess in this pavilion.
To help the small and medium companies, one of the main employment generators in India, Kalam urged the big industries to ensure timely payment to help the small units comply with the demand for quality products and timely delivery.
"The IITF has to be a window for the world to see the progress of the country in different sectors," said Kalam, adding that it could also be a linkage for rural and small enterprises to seek entry into the global markets.
Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley said while India has made a good dent in promoting the 'Service by India' brand, it is only now that the 'Made in India' brand is making some dent in the global markets.
"Despite the hardening of the rupee and global economic slowdown, Indian exports last year recorded over 18 percent growth. This year too we are close to double digit growth," said Jaitley.
Commerce Secretary Dipak Chatterjee said he was confident India would achieve a steady export growth despite a steady rise in the value of the rupee.
The fair, he said, is an "opportunity for the foreign participants to gauge the response of Indian market to their products".
Marking the birth anniversary of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, whose birthday has always been celebrated as "Children's Day", a large number of children were present at the function.
Source: IANS
Source: IANS