India doesn't need charity in world trade: FM

BERLIN: Blunty telling the developed world India does not seek charity, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the country only wanted an open, rule-based system of world trade and open markets.

In the backdrop of the current WTO negotiations, Chidambaram also said new forms of exploitation are as pernicious as colonialism that was buried many decades ago.

"We do not seek charity. We seek an open, rule-based system of world trade; we seek open markets; we seek knowledge and technology," Chidambaram said delivering a lecture on "India at 60--Domestic Reforms to Global Responsibility" at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

"On our part, we are willing to assume our share of responsibility, consistent with our need and our capacity, to make the world a better and safer place," said Chidambaram. who is on a three-day visit to Germany.

Observing that Global institutions have become important instruments in forging a consensus among countries that are at different stages of development, Chidambaram said "The United Nations and other UN bodies, the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF must reflect the realities of our time.

'Developed' and 'developing' are no longer exclusive or mutually antagonistic categories, he said, adding the developing countries of the world, especially the fast-growing emerging economies, must come forward to assume greater responsibility in the management of these global institutions.

On their part, he said the developed countries must signal to the world that they acknowledge that these institutions are not intended to preserve the old order and are indeed driven by the desire to usher in fair and equitable global systems.

Referring to the 9.4 per cent GDP growth recorded in 2006-07, Chidambaram said "the demographic profile of India is working in our favour and the size of our working-age population exceeds, and will continue until 2030 or 2035 to exceed, the number of dependant persons. The objective conditions give us the confidence that we would be able to sustain the high growth rate in the medium term."

He also said a high rate of growth of GDP would have little meaning to the poor and the disadvantaged unless there is a visible improvement in their living and working conditions."