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Swadeshi should not be protectionist, says Swraj Paul

Noted United Kingdom-based Non Resident Indian Lord Swraj Paul today said that the swadeshi policies of the government should not protect a few individuals, but lead to overall development of India.

Lord Paul, who is on a visit to India, said in Bombay that in the changed scenario of complete market economy, swadeshi should strive for excellence and total quality management.

Swadeshi is a very good approach, but it should not be protectionist, he said.

"One should not settle for anything less than the best. And there should be a complete change in the mindset of the people to lead ahead in the competitive world," he said. "India is a vibrant country with excellent human resources and I have full confidence that the country will achieve global leadership in near future."

Earlier, addressing the NRI community and captains of industry on attracting investment through the NRI route , at a day-long seminar organised by the All India Association of Industries president Vijay G Kalantri, he said the NRIs have a very vibrant role to play in India's development.

"Look for a moment at the NRI community -- they are about 18 million people of Indian origin settled outside India. Their economic product is about the same as all 950 million generate in India each year.… There is no magic, we simply want to be the best," Lord Paul said.

Managing the world will require many adjustments, but the basics of knowing people and using the common sense are eternally valid, he reminded, adding, the social structure which had meaning in the past has to be redefined to compete in world markets.

He pointed out that countries will have to prepare much more for understanding and dealing in the conditions created by the new global market. Very few nations have done this. But, those who do will have some advantages in the marketplace of the future.

Lord Paul in his 45-minute presentation said that the one of the critical imperatives that the NRIs will need to reflect upon much more is leadership in the enterprises. "In this age of systems, operations research and organisation, we tend to forget that people matter. Understanding people is the best management technique of all. But please do not confuse human relations with public relations," he said.

He said open markets promote competition and consumers everywhere now recognise competition as their friend. "It offers choices in what they like and the benefits which they want. And consumers vote, which means policy-makers listen," he added.

Lord Paul said, "We will have to develop mechanisms -- and you have seen how the absence of them causes turmoil in places like Indonesia, South Korea and even Japan. Our challenge is what approach to take and what mechanisms to evolve. We have to keep an enterprise society alive, if we want to give our people a steady growth. We cannot go back to excessive regulations," he said.

He further said: "We have to strike a balance -- that will encourage initiative while maintaining standards necessary for stability and honesty. This may well be the most important question of the next decade."

UNI

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