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Kalam urges Indian manufactures to be competitive
Friday, 14 November 2003, 20:30 IST
NEW DELHI: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Friday 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, inaugurating the 23rd annual India International Trade Fair (IITF).
Marking the birth anniversary of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, a large number of children were present at the function.
"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 achievements in this pavilion.
Over 7,000 exhibitors from India and 27 other countries are taking part in the fortnight-long fair, which this year has tourism and export promotion of the small and medium enterprises as its focus theme.
With the right type of management system, Kalam said India could aspire to double its annual growth from over 5.0 percent currently.
This year, India is optimistic of clocking over 7.0 percent growth buoyed by a good monsoon and high agriculture output.
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.
Speaking on the occasion, 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".
After over a decade, Pakistan has set up a country pavilion in the fair with around 40 exhibitors taking part.
Apart from a large number of business delegations, there is large national and company level participation from countries like Brazil, China, Oman, Iran, Russia, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
Source: IANS
Source: IANS