NEW DELHI : Enthused by the auto industry's revolutionary growth, especially in small cars, the Government on Friday asserted that it would make India a global manufacturing hub for other sectors as well."We will become a global manufacturing hub for small cars in the next 3 to 5 years ... we will emulate this success story in other sectors" to be among the top global manufacturing centres, said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

He stressed that his budget proposals for 2006-07 would not only ensure an eight per cent economic growth but also boost agriculture while sustaining the northward momentum in manufacturing and service sectors.

Winding up the discussion on the 2006-07 budget in the Lok Sabha, he pointed out that the auto revolution that was unfolding in the country had gone unnoticed.

"If every second toy and third shoe in the world are made in China, why can't we emulate these examples," he asked, while urging members to throw away their "ideological and political blinkers."

He assured all assistance in this "growth story" endeavour and stressed that growth alone was the best antidote to poverty. The Government, he said, had been able to allocate more resources for infrastructure development and its NCMP flagship programmes, mainly because it could mop up an additional Rs 50,000 crore as revenue annually without the need for coercive tax measures.

However, as inadequate power was a major hurdle for faster industrial development, he said contracts would be awarded the year-end for implementing five ultra mega power projects of 4,000 mw each entailing a total investment of about Rs. 90,000 crore to make up for the "lost ground."

As for the farming community and the poorer sections, Mr. Chidambaram assured members that there would be no cut in subsidies, both for the public distribution system (PDS) and fertilizers.

Mr. Chidambaram promised that the fertilizer subsidy arrears amounting to Rs. 6,900 crore would be cleared by March 31 this year to take the total bill to Rs. 25,000 crore.

The food subsidy bill, he said, would also cross the Rs. 25,000-crore mark with no reduction.

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