ID :
38999
Tue, 01/06/2009 - 11:53
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/38999
The shortlink copeid
India`s economic growth may fall to 5 percent: Lord Paul
London, Jan 5 (PTI) Warning that India's economic growth
may slide to about five percent, leading Non-Resident Indian
(NRI) entrepreneur Lord Swraj Paul, however, affirmed his
commitment to investing in India saying he had no doubt it
would turn into a major "manufacturing power-house."
"My view is that we may see 5-5.5 percent economic
growth. I think it will go down further because India at this
moment in the manufacturing industry is not very different
from the experience you had in Britain and the US," Lord Paul
said in an interview on BBC's Hard Talk programme.
Asked how low the economic growth could touch, he said:
"I don't think anybody knows because unless the confidence
comes back, we don't know how low it can go.
"And that confidence is not coming back. Because I don't
think India or UK or US have seen the bottom yet and you can
only hope for improvement when you are convinced that you have
almost touched the bottom."
Asked whether his decision to invest in India was a wrong
judgement, Lord Paul vehemently denied and said: "I still have
no doubt that we would be able to turn India into a
manufacturing power-house."
On whether investment in India would be affected in the
short to medium term especially after the Mumbai terror
attack, Lord Paul, who is the founder of multinational company
Caparo, said: "It is bound to."
"But I don't think it is going to be as bad as people
think because lot of people including foreign investors are of
my view that this waking up of the government is going to come
only by the anger of the people and not because of some
foreign investors.".
On whether 2009 would be a difficult year for India, Lord
Paul said, "Without any questions in my mind. There is no
doubt about it. There is a lot of awakening to be done if
India wants to call it self a country which is on the march."
To a question that why Indian government is failing to
heed to his warning, Lord Paul said, "Because nobody seems to
take this as a serious thing. I am generally very critical of
it because we are sitting on a time bomb."
Growth has no meaning unless India deals with 300 million
people living on one dollar and 600 million people on just two
dollars a day, he said.
He, however, said that his company would continue to
invest in India because eventually sufficient voices would be
raised against the crisis including security concerns of the
people as well as investors.
Lord Paul reaffirmed his commitment to India and said
that he would not suspend operations here due to lack of
confidence in India's economic future.
Criticising the Indian government for not being able to
translate growth in alleviating poverty and delivering
infrastructure, Lord Paul said, "This is the biggest problem
of India".
"Because I don't think that the government and even
industrialists have realised that unless you are going to
alleviate poverty all this great talk about 'we are getting to
be a developing nation' is false," he noted.
Lord Paul also said that he has 'not really' seen such a
difficult business environment in his career so far.
Asked whether India could decouple itself from the
problems in the western-rich economy, he said that India and
other countries have enjoyed the benefits of globalisation and
"you think that you (India) are not going to be affected. It
is like living on the moon".
Raising concerns over the failure of capitalist systems
in the ongoing global economic crisis, Lord Paul strongly
opposed any form of bailout by any government and said the
need of the hour is to have nationalised financial
institutions.
"I am against bailouts of any kind, because I did a
speech only in the last week in the House of Lords. I said
bailout is not a solution," he said.
To protect the industry and to do something for the
industry, "we need to go all the way in the chain", he added.
"... that is why in last week in the House of Lords, I
suggested that we should have an industrial development bank
in the country, which should be government-owned, which should
have on board people who are actual manufacturers," he said.
"The capitalist system has failed, as much as in 1991 the
state system failed... everybody got very enthusiastic, only
private sector will (work). Private sector has miserably
failed (in) the country.
"You are in a situation, where there is no easy solution.
It is a worldwide phenomenon. Nobody knows whether the banks
are telling truth. Nobody knows how deep a hole it is," Lord
Paul said.
Asked if he regrets reposing faith on British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown and whether he is the "right man" to run
the country in the midst of the current crisis, he said, "I
have no regrets at all. He proves to be the best prime
minister this country has had... I have not found or heard a
better proposition in any man in any part of the world
including the opposition."
Talking about the UK's immigration laws, Lord Paul said,
"Globalisation without free movement of people is not a
possibility. Globalisation will be successful only with free
movement of people." PTI
may slide to about five percent, leading Non-Resident Indian
(NRI) entrepreneur Lord Swraj Paul, however, affirmed his
commitment to investing in India saying he had no doubt it
would turn into a major "manufacturing power-house."
"My view is that we may see 5-5.5 percent economic
growth. I think it will go down further because India at this
moment in the manufacturing industry is not very different
from the experience you had in Britain and the US," Lord Paul
said in an interview on BBC's Hard Talk programme.
Asked how low the economic growth could touch, he said:
"I don't think anybody knows because unless the confidence
comes back, we don't know how low it can go.
"And that confidence is not coming back. Because I don't
think India or UK or US have seen the bottom yet and you can
only hope for improvement when you are convinced that you have
almost touched the bottom."
Asked whether his decision to invest in India was a wrong
judgement, Lord Paul vehemently denied and said: "I still have
no doubt that we would be able to turn India into a
manufacturing power-house."
On whether investment in India would be affected in the
short to medium term especially after the Mumbai terror
attack, Lord Paul, who is the founder of multinational company
Caparo, said: "It is bound to."
"But I don't think it is going to be as bad as people
think because lot of people including foreign investors are of
my view that this waking up of the government is going to come
only by the anger of the people and not because of some
foreign investors.".
On whether 2009 would be a difficult year for India, Lord
Paul said, "Without any questions in my mind. There is no
doubt about it. There is a lot of awakening to be done if
India wants to call it self a country which is on the march."
To a question that why Indian government is failing to
heed to his warning, Lord Paul said, "Because nobody seems to
take this as a serious thing. I am generally very critical of
it because we are sitting on a time bomb."
Growth has no meaning unless India deals with 300 million
people living on one dollar and 600 million people on just two
dollars a day, he said.
He, however, said that his company would continue to
invest in India because eventually sufficient voices would be
raised against the crisis including security concerns of the
people as well as investors.
Lord Paul reaffirmed his commitment to India and said
that he would not suspend operations here due to lack of
confidence in India's economic future.
Criticising the Indian government for not being able to
translate growth in alleviating poverty and delivering
infrastructure, Lord Paul said, "This is the biggest problem
of India".
"Because I don't think that the government and even
industrialists have realised that unless you are going to
alleviate poverty all this great talk about 'we are getting to
be a developing nation' is false," he noted.
Lord Paul also said that he has 'not really' seen such a
difficult business environment in his career so far.
Asked whether India could decouple itself from the
problems in the western-rich economy, he said that India and
other countries have enjoyed the benefits of globalisation and
"you think that you (India) are not going to be affected. It
is like living on the moon".
Raising concerns over the failure of capitalist systems
in the ongoing global economic crisis, Lord Paul strongly
opposed any form of bailout by any government and said the
need of the hour is to have nationalised financial
institutions.
"I am against bailouts of any kind, because I did a
speech only in the last week in the House of Lords. I said
bailout is not a solution," he said.
To protect the industry and to do something for the
industry, "we need to go all the way in the chain", he added.
"... that is why in last week in the House of Lords, I
suggested that we should have an industrial development bank
in the country, which should be government-owned, which should
have on board people who are actual manufacturers," he said.
"The capitalist system has failed, as much as in 1991 the
state system failed... everybody got very enthusiastic, only
private sector will (work). Private sector has miserably
failed (in) the country.
"You are in a situation, where there is no easy solution.
It is a worldwide phenomenon. Nobody knows whether the banks
are telling truth. Nobody knows how deep a hole it is," Lord
Paul said.
Asked if he regrets reposing faith on British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown and whether he is the "right man" to run
the country in the midst of the current crisis, he said, "I
have no regrets at all. He proves to be the best prime
minister this country has had... I have not found or heard a
better proposition in any man in any part of the world
including the opposition."
Talking about the UK's immigration laws, Lord Paul said,
"Globalisation without free movement of people is not a
possibility. Globalisation will be successful only with free
movement of people." PTI
