PM to India Inc: Compete, or die

In a clear message to the Indian industrialists asking them not to fear competition and seek protectionist measures, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told India Inc. on Thursday that "the world respects only those who are strong." Mr Singh, who returned from a four day visit to Kuala Lumpur for the Indo-Asean Summit and East Asia Summit, told the agency, "The Indian people need to get used to greater competition. Success will come to those who accept the logic of competition."

"There is such a thing as the fear of the unknown. (But) It is the duty of the government to calm those fears and at the same time convince our industry and trade that the future lies in accepting the logic of greater competition," said Mr Singh. "The world pays a lot of sympathy to the poor but ultimately it respects only those who are strong," he said, asking Indian industry to become competitive to meet the global challenges.

Regarding the Malaysian government’s concern over India giving a long negative list of 1,400 items under the India-Asean free trade agreement to be implemented from January 1, 2007, the Prime Minister said: "I took note of that and they felt that our negative list was far too long." Mr Singh has also agreed to adopt a "practical, pragmatic and flexible" approach in dealing with the issue.On India’s foreign exchange reserves now at more than $ 140 million, Mr Singh said it was quite adequate and looked "quite satisfactory."

"Reserves are looked after by RBI. All I can say is today our reserves are about 14 months of imports. I think they are adequate and give us a level of comfort," he said.