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Editorial
Tale of two summits
The contrast could not be starker. Two politicians from highly
developed - read industrialised - neighbouring states trying
to tug at both the heart and purse strings of domestic and
foreign investors. Vilasrao Deshmukh and Narendra Modi, the
political chieftains of Maharashtra and Gujarat summiteering
for the benefit of their respective states. The first named
has got a huge task on his hand. In a few days from now, away
from the heat and dust of local kanda poha politics, Deshmukh
will head for the cooler climes of Davos in Switzerland with
a high power delegation for what will be his maiden appearance
at the World Economic Forum (WEF), the theme of which is ironically
'Shifting Power Equation'. While the politician from Maharashtra
is slated to deliver a speech at a special session of the
WEF, the Mahakumbh of business and Economics, there is a more
pressing agenda to his visit. He will be playing host to corporate
hotshots from across the world over breakfast, the idea being
to go full throttle in marketing the state's investment potential.
In recent times it has lost much of its former industrial
sheen to more enterprising and accommodating neighbours. There
is much to be hopeful about. A recent turnaround in the state
economy has rekindled investors' interest in Maharashtra.
The state has seen an investment commitment of over Rs 35,000
crore over the past few months and Davos should come as an
assurance of more. The nature of his pitch will determine
whether Maharashtra means business. Meanwhile, Gujarat, which
has taught the country rudiments of business, but was unfortunately
seen as laggard on the social and human development indices,
as witnessed from that ogre called communalism, is back in
aggressive mode. The Vibrant Gujarat - Global Investors' Summit
2007 has been hailed as a huge success with Chief Minister
Narendra Modi winning not just encomiums for the management
of the state but a veritable flood of investments. A total
of 104 MoUs with an investment of Rs 2,51,967 crore were signed
on the very first session of the two-day event! Modi couldn't
have had a better advertisement for his state than industrialist
Ratan Tata, who as chairman of the Investment Commission of
India was Chief Guest for the summit, and thought it fit to
say: "It is stupid if you are not in Gujarat". It
wasn't just the Tatas. At the roll-call of the corporate world's
biggest names at the sprawling Science City campus in Ahmedabad
all honchos came with the promise of big-ticket investments
into Gujarat. Indeed there are lessons to be learnt from the
past experience and more recent business pursuits of both
politicians. The minders of government should know that emphasis
on Common Weal can only lead towards economic happiness.
VOICES
Poor are micro-consumers
India has emerged as a force to reckon with in the past decade.
Today prosperity has become visible. At the same time India
presents dramatic contrasts. We see world class healthcare
in India, prompting people from all over the world to come
here to get well but there are many millions on Indian deprived
of the basics of primary healthcare. We have world-class educational
institutions but many of our citizens are illiterate. The
most important challenge India faces today is to find out
ways to make its economic transformation more equitable. We
need to keep in mind two basic principles: acceptance of globalisation
and innovations in economic and social solutions. I hope democratising
commerce holds the key to India's social transformation. I
must stress the fact that there is need to stop viewing the
poor as victims but rather seeing them as micro-consumers
and micro-producers, who collectively have tremendous strength.
Dr C K Prahalad
University of Michigan
Emphasis on quality education India is a land of contradictions
and dichotomies and this extends to the area of education
as well. We have the IITs and IIMs at one of the scale, and
teacher-less schools at the other. To correct these imbalances,
India needs to strengthen linkages with its diaspora. After
independence, India emphasized developing centers of higher
learning. The first IIT was started in Kharagpur in 1950 on
the MIT model. India also retained English as a medium of
instruction; this has contributed greatly to its economic
growth. India's youth, comprising over 50 percent of its population,
is referred to as its demographic dividend, the Minister said.
To realise its potential, it needs to improve the quality
of existing colleges, universities and technical institutes.
There are 367 universities and 18000 colleges with 11.2 million
students on their rolls, and half a million teachers. India
has to ensure that the children of NRIs, especially of those
working in the Gulf, get a quality education.
S Jaipal Reddy,
Union Minister of Urban Development
Planning for power
The country will witness a quantum growth of 800,000 megawatt
capacity by 2032 This will be a win- win situation as the
demand is already prevalent with 9- 10 percent of growth rate.
To achieve this target, merchant power plants will be key
as 10-15 per cent of the supply may come up on basis of merchant
power plants. The Ministry is soon going to sensitise states
and the Ministry of Environment so that clearances for the
merchant power plants are speedy and a positive policy framework
is conducive. This will help merchant plan developers facilitate
financial closures, land acquisitions and other clearances.
A working group set up under PFC will prepare a project report
and identify 24 sites for merchant power project development.
As far as financing of merchant power is concerned the Ministry
prefers recourse financing. A planned framework along with
parity and proportionate arrangement in the whole system is
a must.
R V Shahi,
Secretary, Ministry of Power
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