India Inc asks govt to push reforms in agri sector

NEW DELHI: Unsatiated by individual success stories essayed through mega acquisitions globally, industry titans Ratan Tata, Sunil Mittal and Venugopal Dhoot on Wednesday said India needs to push reforms to overcome economic disparities and be counted among the top nations.

Though agonised by the painfully slow pace of growth in agriculture and social sector like education, the captains of industry felt that the country had achieved remarkable success since independence 60 years ago.

They were unanimous that India's time has come and that the country is universally recognised as a nation on the move to take its place amongst the successful economies in the world.

The industry icons and associations, Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Associated Chambers of Commerce, were responding to media on India's progress since 1947 and the path ahead.

"After decades of protection through licensing and high tariffs, corporates have restructured to meet global competition and step out into the international marketplace as competitive and strong entities," Mittal, who heads one of the biggest Indian conglomerates Bharti Enterprises and apex association CII, said.

Tata, on the other hand, said, "One must recognise that great disparity still exists and that a large portion of the population survives at or below subsistence level while a smaller, more fortunate segment enjoys wealth and well-being.

"One must also recognise that the absence of a strong unified ideological construct in Parliament, deprives the country of unified decisions, singleness of purpose and often hinders the momentum of growth."