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'You won't be kicked out': PM assures MNCs

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today clearly set out a time-table for initiating important policy decisions, including appointing a commission to review administrative laws, formulating national housing and infotech policies, besides promising a series of measures to kick-start the ''weak and deficit-ridden economy'' inherited by the 40-day-old Bharatiya Janata Party-led government.

Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry's national conference and annual session on 'Bringing growth back: Economy, education and employment', Vajpayee said the government would soon announce a series of schemes to mobilise investible funds from idle resources, unavailable to the exchequer.

Highlighting the need for higher growth, the prime minister stated that the nation's economy would be insulated from politics. ''We simply cannot afford to play politics with the nation's economy any more...I firmly believe the time has come to insulate the nation's economy as much as possible from the turmoil in its democratic polity.''

Seeking to remove certain apprehensions on the government's policy towards foreign investment, Vajpayee assured business leaders, including foreign delegates, that swadeshi did not mean that his government would not value foreign investment. He gave a categorical assurance that the foreign companies, who have been allowed to operate in the country, would not find ''the permission withdrawn or narrowed in scope. Government is a continuing entity.''

The prime minister said his government would step up investment in the infrastructure sector removing ''an impression'' that the government had less to do with this vital sector. Vajpayee said his government would announce a national housing policy within the next 60 days. The Urban Land Ceiling Act will be amended to facilitate realisation of housing loans and boost construction.

''All impediments in realisation of our stated goals in the policy will be removed forthwith,'' he said.

The government will also set up a national information technology task force within the next 30 days to formulate a draft national informatics policy as promised in the national agenda for governance.

Regretting delays in implementation of infrastructure projects, Vajpayee announced that the prime minister's office would directly monitor all projects capitalised at more than Rs 1 billion each in power, roads and bridges, dams and irrigation, telecommunication, oil and energy, railways, ports and airports.

The PMO will seek a monthly progress report on all such projects and ensure their completion and commissioning on time.

Referring to measures announced by Power Minister P R Kumaramangalam on Sunday, the prime minister said his government would take firm decisions and also support the ones taken by state governments to bring financial viability to the power sector.

The government would allocate substantial plan funds for public investment in agriculture, rural development, irrigation, horticulture, afforestation, wasteland development and related rural infrastructure. He stressed the need for improving the farm production growth rate to at least five per cent since ''food security, on a long term basis, is our urgent and immediate concern''.

While Vajpayee assured the domestic industry that the new policies would be announced keeping their interests in mind, he allayed fears of foreign investors about swadeshi.

Elaborating swadeshi, Vajpayee said it meant that bulk of the resources needed for development would be mobilised from within the country. In this context, the BJP-led government proposed to take steps to raise the rate of savings from 26 per cent of GDP to 30 per cent.

However, these domestic resources would be supplemented by foreign resources. Foreign investments would be sought in areas of special priority such as infrastructure development, hitech industries, transfer of better management practices, upgradation of product quality to help export capability and critical global marketing linkages.

The government would soon formulate transparent, ''non-discriminatory and non-discretionary'' policies governing FDI. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board will be required and empowered to give a yes or no answer to every proposal involving FDI within a deadline of 60 days.

In order to remove procedural bottlenecks, the government would soon appoint a commission to comprehensively review, in a short timeframe, all administrative laws, rules and regulations governing industry and trade, Vajpayee said.

The Companies Act will be drastically overhauled and the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act will be replaced with a legislation which is in tune with present requirements.

Reiterating the BJP-led government's commitment to broaden and speed up internal liberalisation, the prime minister said many of the problems faced by industry were at the state and local level. The process of internal liberalisation would be widened to reach those operational levels.

In this context, the government has appointed a special task force, headed by Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, to advise the government on devolution of financial and administrative powers to states.

Referring to ''caliberated globalisation'', the prime minister suggested that industry and the government should jointly draw a schedule up to 2005 in view of the rigorous timetable of the World Trade Organisation.

''We should then work backwards to closely monitor our forward movement in export promotion,'' he said.

Underlining the need for developing global brands and products from India, Vajpayee asked industry to improve its global competitiveness and strengthen its export muscle. However, he referred to a social dimension to making Indian industry competitive.

He said the capital intensive structural adjustments in industrialised countries had given them a competitive edge in global markets, but they also entailed massive lay-offs. While many of these countries have welfare schemes to cushion unemployment, he said India does not have any such scheme.

Vajpayee said the government would soon announce a series of schemes to mobilise investible funds in consultation with trade and industry. The non-performing assets of banks and financial institutions would be reduced and a machinery for resolving disputes between the revenue department and trade and industry would be set up.

The speedy resolution of disputes between the revenue department and trade and industry would ensure government its legitimate dues.

The government would also tap new and unconventional sources of funding such as debt market instruments and pension and insurance funds, for infrastructure projects.

The government, he said, would initiate immediate steps to effect reforms in the public sector. This would embrace the whole gamut of imaginative restructuring, including transparent disinvestment and reducing PSU losses.

Vajpayee said the government would play the role less and less of an active player in the economy, and more and more of a legislator, facilitator and regulator. Where necessary, it will be the protector of India's commerce and industry.

''I come from a political tradition that does not look upon commerce and industry with suspicion. When it was conventional political expediency to decry entrepreneurship, we championed their cause. As a government, we will do more,'' he said.

UNI