India, US differ on pace of economic reforms
The US on Wednesday said there were signs of a “pause” in India’s economic reform process in the recent months, an observation that was hotly contested by defence minister Pranab Mukherjee.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The US on Wednesday said there were signs of a “pause” in India’s economic reform process in the recent months, an observation that was hotly contested by defence minister Pranab Mukherjee.
“In recent months privatisations have stopped and political reality suggests that reform of other key sectors and policies of central interest to investors will take longer than envisioned,” US ambassador David C Mulford said at the 3rd Indo-US Economic Summit. The loss of the momentum, he said, could have serious economic costs attached to it.
Mukherjee responded by saying, “Reforms were no stop and go but a continuous process. There could be minor hitches in the process of reforms but as you know only too well, democracy is about checks and balances.”
The defence minister said, decisions can be taken only after debate and due consideration . Hasty decision making can have negative repercussions . The good news, he said, is that mechanisms are in place to identify bottlenecks and remove them.
He said, since 2000, when Indo-US Economic dialogue started, a number of commissions and fora have come into existence with the goal of putting business relations onto a higher trajectory.
Mulford cited the recent IFC report which ranked India 134th among 175 countries for ease of doing business.
Seeking liberalisation of retail and financial sector, the US envoy said: “There is still a substantial body of capital waiting to be invested, if the right conditions materialise. Mulford said that to raise the growth rate beyond 8%continued reforms were required.
“In recent months privatisations have stopped and political reality suggests that reform of other key sectors and policies of central interest to investors will take longer than envisioned,” US ambassador David C Mulford said at the 3rd Indo-US Economic Summit. The loss of the momentum, he said, could have serious economic costs attached to it.
Mukherjee responded by saying, “Reforms were no stop and go but a continuous process. There could be minor hitches in the process of reforms but as you know only too well, democracy is about checks and balances.”
The defence minister said, decisions can be taken only after debate and due consideration . Hasty decision making can have negative repercussions . The good news, he said, is that mechanisms are in place to identify bottlenecks and remove them.
He said, since 2000, when Indo-US Economic dialogue started, a number of commissions and fora have come into existence with the goal of putting business relations onto a higher trajectory.
Mulford cited the recent IFC report which ranked India 134th among 175 countries for ease of doing business.
Seeking liberalisation of retail and financial sector, the US envoy said: “There is still a substantial body of capital waiting to be invested, if the right conditions materialise. Mulford said that to raise the growth rate beyond 8%continued reforms were required.
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