FM's five point agenda for India as driver of global economy
New Delhi: The Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, has outlined a five-point agenda for India to drive the global economy in the 21st century.

Inaugurating the ICC India Platinum Jubilee annual meeting here, Chidambaram stressed the point that India had "almost uniquely" a great opportunity to reap the "demographic dividend" and achieve high growth rates on a sustained basis. The theme of the annual meeting was `Will India drive the global economy in the 21st century?'

He held that there is growing recognition that it is India and China together which would drive the global economy in the coming years. Acknowledging that China today is the driver of global economy, the Finance Minister pointed out that it is the huge consumption in the US that is driving the Chinese production engine.

"If consumption drives production, it is aspiration that drives consumption. We must aspire to be a greater country. We must aspire to give good education to all children and the best of healthcare, drinking water, roads and power supply in villages," he said.

The Finance Minister pointed out that India is the only country in the world where the size of the working age population would increase over the next 20 years before it begins to decline. "India is also the only large country in the world where the average age of the population would decline before it rises," Chidambaram said.
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Patel: Aviation policy by March end
New Delhi: Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel has said that a comprehensive aviation policy would be ready by March 31 this year. He also said that the government proposed to introduce, in the budget session of Parliament, a bill providing for an independent regulator for the aviation sector.

Emphasising that an independent regulator was required in the aviation sector as well, Patel said, "a bill will be introduced in the budget session of Parliament itself". The regulatory framework of DGCA needs to be strengthened and given more teeth, he added.
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India Inc. cautions govt. on deficit and need for investments
New Delhi: Global rating agency Moody's Investor Services and India Inc have warned that ten per cent economic growth rate will not be attained without reining in the fiscal deficit. In her reply to a PTI questionnaire on the forthcoming budget Moody's Vice President Kristin Lindow has said that the promise of comprehensive tax reforms is very encouraging and that it would be a very positive step in the right direction.

The Confederation of Indian Industry said desired level of growth requires a rise in investment level. The CII said for this it is essential to convert government's revenue deficit into surplus as this will add to the domestic savings pool and keep the cost of capital at internationally competitive levels.

"For a zero revenue deficit target, measures have to be taken to widen both the direct and indirect tax base, privatise loss-making PSUs and rationalise government expenditure," the CII said.

FICCI has said that to attain growth rates close to 10 per cent, the investment rates in the economy should go up to 33 per cent. Agriculture should grow at four per cent and the industry and services should expand at more than 11 per cent to push the economy on the path of 10 per cent growth rate. Drastic measures should be initiated to curtail revenue deficit, which presupposes better targeting of subsidies to the poor.

Assocham has said higher level of growth depends on investment, increased productivity and higher agricultural yields. It has said that efforts should be made to further prune subsidies in fertiliser, petroleum and food to rein in fiscal deficit.

The PHDCCI has said that the budget should focus on reform measures, which would give strategic importance to domestic demand so that it leads to improvement in investment climate and triggers growth impulses in the economy.

ICRA Ltd has said that efforts should be made to widen the tax base, improve tax administration on the revenue side and curb non-plan expenditures through reduction in subsidies, interest payments.
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Biotech sector set to grab ten per cent of global pie
New Delhi: The government is planning to start top-of-the-line biotechnology research institutes on the lines of the IITs, with some of them specialising in stem cell research, the most promising field within biotechnology. Thirty new biotech parks are also likely to come up soon across the country.

The biotech sector hopes to grab at least ten per cent of the global market share within the next five years, which is a significant increase from the current two per cent.

Industry estimates show the sector can employ at least a million skilled people by 2010 and generate annual revenues of $5 billion by then, almost seven times the current annual revenue of $705mn. More than half of what India's biotech sector produces is exported.
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