INDIA A HAPPENING PLACE: In 1991, since India threw its markets open, the transition from a closed inward looking economy to a open and globally competitive one has not been without hiccups.
Experts now acknowledge that reforms has been slow but steady. And it is the fruits of these steps towards liberalization that India is reaping today.
The GDP this year is expected to show a 7 per cent growth and foreign exchange reserves have crossed $100 billion.
All these are just signs of how India is changing rapidly, says Lord R K Bagri, Chairman, Metdist Group of Companies, which has extensive trading and manufacturing interests in non-ferrous metals in United Kingdom and elsewhere.
"In the economic and other areas there is a new found enthusiasm visible, there are signs of dynamism and a speeding up of reforms even in difficult areas like labour laws. There is also attention being paid to the development of infrastructure like railways, highways and ports. This shows that India is on a new growth path," says Lord Bagri, who was the first Indian to be elected as chairman of London Metal Exchange.
Globalization has also resulted in an attitudinal change among the Indian industry. "Companies are lean and mean today and are thinking global. They are looking at acquisitions abroad now. India is considered a happening place today and there is still a huge opportunity here to tap into," says Lord Bagri.
Though services have been booming and contributing increasingly to the GDP, Lord Bagri says that the country should not forget the agriculture sector.
"Agriculture will remain the key to India's future. There are 800 million Indians in rural India and a booming agriculture sector is what will help them," he says.
(L) C B Patel, Editor, Asian Business Publication Limited, London; with Metdist Group Chairman Lord R K Bagri (Center), and FICCI President Y K Modi at the plannery session of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in New Delhi on Saturday, January 10, 2004.