Govt role to remain vital: PM
Manmohan Singh said greater attention needs to be paid to the political management of globalisation.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday asserted that the government will continue to play an important role in a liberalised and "borderless" economy, and said greater attention needs to be paid to the political management of globalisation.
"I do believe that even in a wholly globalised and integrated world, states have a role to play. People in democratic societies expect the Governments to deliver on their basic needs", the Prime Minister said in his inaugural address at a FICCI-SRC seminar on globalisation.
Singh said while the private sector would increase its role in the economy, the government would play a role in services like basic education, public health and basic medical care.
He said not much attention has been paid to the politics of globalisation and its political management.
"The United Nations could have been a political instrument of managing globalisation, but so far it has not succeeded", he said adding that the UN would not be able to succeed either unless it reforms itself as an institution and its own management became more democratic and more representative.
The Prime Minister said there was as yet no framework for movement of people and the focus of globalisation had so far remained on movement of goods, capital and financial and logistical services.
"Developed countries are becoming more restrictive with respect to immigration and movement of labour... Even in the area of trade, we have still not been able to find an acceptable basis for making globalisation more development oriented," he said.
Referring to the stalemate in Doha Round, Singh said WTO talks must remain focused on development issues.
"If the Doha Round has to have a successful outcome, and we sincerely wish this, then it must remain true to its original mandate of being a Development Round," he said.
"We must find ways in which trade aids its development to ensure that globalisation works for all. This is the challenge before the leadership of developed world."
"I do believe that even in a wholly globalised and integrated world, states have a role to play. People in democratic societies expect the Governments to deliver on their basic needs", the Prime Minister said in his inaugural address at a FICCI-SRC seminar on globalisation.
Singh said while the private sector would increase its role in the economy, the government would play a role in services like basic education, public health and basic medical care.
He said not much attention has been paid to the politics of globalisation and its political management.
"The United Nations could have been a political instrument of managing globalisation, but so far it has not succeeded", he said adding that the UN would not be able to succeed either unless it reforms itself as an institution and its own management became more democratic and more representative.
The Prime Minister said there was as yet no framework for movement of people and the focus of globalisation had so far remained on movement of goods, capital and financial and logistical services.
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"Developed countries are becoming more restrictive with respect to immigration and movement of labour... Even in the area of trade, we have still not been able to find an acceptable basis for making globalisation more development oriented," he said.
Referring to the stalemate in Doha Round, Singh said WTO talks must remain focused on development issues.
"If the Doha Round has to have a successful outcome, and we sincerely wish this, then it must remain true to its original mandate of being a Development Round," he said.
"We must find ways in which trade aids its development to ensure that globalisation works for all. This is the challenge before the leadership of developed world."
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The Prime Minister said globalisation in an increasingly multi-polar world requires global rules of game, not just for trade and capital flows but also for management for peace and security, environment and natural resources.
Making a strong case for state intervention on behalf of the weak in the globalised economy, Singh said in democratic societies people expect the government to deliver on their basic economic and social needs.
"While private sector will increase its role and bring prosperity to newer generations of entrepreneurs, professional workers, the government will be expected to step in and provide a range of services," he added.
The Prime Minister said the government must be able to mobilise and deploy financial and administrative resources to provide a range of services.
"People expect governments to invest in public goods. Official development assistance must be extended to bridge development gap between world's haves and have-nots," he said.
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Singh said the idea of bridging democratic deficit in global governance needed careful consideration. The political, economic, intellectual and cultural consequences have to be managed in a democratic manner, he added.
"When we talk of democratising global governance, we must also accept the obligation of democratising national and local governance," he said.
The intellectual and political leadership of the developed world had not yet shown a willingness to grapple with these issues, he added.
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