'Sell-off policy not abandoned'

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday ruled out abandoning privatisation of public enterprises but said disinvestment process would be based on sound business and economic sense.
"It would be incorrect to assume that our government had abandoned privatisation. We have not... You can rest assured that there will be a host of privatisation opportunities for you," Commerce & Industry Minister Kamal Nath told Washington-based US-India Business Council''s annual general meeting via a video conference.
Kamal Nath''s assurance assumes significance in the face of assertion in the Common Minimum Programme that profit-making public sector undertakings will not be privatised.
Government''s privatisation programme will be with a human face as the gains from it would be linked to designated social development sectors, he said, adding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself was the architect of the economic liberlisation policy 13 years ago.
Turning to Foreign Direct Investment, he assured investors of a very conducive atmosphere, adding, "But what we really want is FDI which generates maximum activity, and thereby generates employment.�

"We therefore especially look to FDI in manufacturing sectors and in greenfield projects," Kamal Nath said.
He said FDI was no longer unidirectional and a reverse investment by Indian companies in the US had grown in recent years particularly in IT sector where Indian entrepreneurs in US had large operations.
Indian companies had bought breweries and pharmaceutical manufacturing units in the US and India was no longer a rural, agriculture-dominant and backward economy, but had evolved into a considerably modern, technology-driven economy propelled by the service sector.
Referring to the parallels being drawn with China by investors, he said a study by International Finance Corporation on business environment had placed India ahead of China from viewpoint of foreign investors.
Even on the basis of returns on investment, India ranked higher giving a return of over 19 per cent compared to China''s 14.5 per cent, he added.

Emphasising that government was committed to simplifying procedures and radically improving the business environment, Nath said India was a mature destination for investors providing social stability and fiscal continuity.
"We provide social stability and fiscal continuity. Our vigorous democracy does not translate into a roller coaster fiscal regime," he said.
Commending the role played by the Indo-American community in bringing both the nations together, he said they had become one of the wealthiest minorities in the US.
"Their achievements especially in IT, financial services, management and medicine have contributed to America''s progress. They have created awareness in the US of the opportunities in the India-US partnership,� he said.