The Hindu : National : ``Inadequate recognition of growing interdependence''

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 07, 2006
ePaper

National

National

``Inadequate recognition of growing interdependence''

Special Correspondent

I am disappointed with political leaders for their postures based in the past: Manmohan

Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said he was disappointed with political leaders for their postures "based in the past" and "lack of appreciation" of India's changing nature of relationship with the rest of the world.

"I am often disappointed at the lack of adequate appreciation in our country, including among our political leaders, of the changing nature of our relationship with the world and indeed with the region around us."

Without directly referring to any party, Dr. Singh said: "Very often, we adopt political postures that are based in the past and are out of line with our current interests as an increasingly globalised and globally integrated economy."

He was addressing the silver jubilee function of the economic think-tank ICRIER (Indian Council for Research and International Economic Relations) here.

The Prime Minister's remarks came in the wake of opposition by certain allies of the UPA coalition to the nuclear deal with the U.S.

"One feels at times that there is inadequate recognition at home of the increasing interdependence between India and the [rest of the] world, and the consequences thereof for our domestic policies."

No informed discussion

Dr. Singh also regretted the absence of informed discussion on the pros and cons of restructuring of voting rights within the International Monetary Fund or the Asian Monetary Union or even on India's place in the new world order. He asked ICRIER and similar organisations to invest in informing and shaping public opinion and policymaking.

India, Dr. Singh said, was destined to be more globally engaged and further integrated with its own region. "Even today, our energy security is closely intertwined with our political relations with a wide range of countries. Our food security, our technological security, indeed our national security, are closely linked to developments around the world." Recalling ICRIER founder K.B. Lall's words that India had to make the transition from being an inward-oriented economy to becoming an outward-oriented one, Dr. Singh said this would require preparation and changes in domestic policy, and Indian firms becoming more competitive.

No external constraint

Noting that there were no binding external constraints on India's economic growth and that most of the constraints were internal, Dr. Singh said: "What it means is that the global environment is more benign today than [at] any other time in recent history. However, we must remain prepared at all times to deal with any external challenges to our development process, develop the necessary analytical tools to forecast global trends and their implications for us and design policy response systems which are rapid and flexible enough for our needs."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National