'India needs to use its assets efficiently'

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 4. Lord Swraj Paul, British industrialist and Member of Parliament, has said that no foreign investment is going to help India unless the country is able to use its assets more efficiently.

Addressing a `Meet-the-Press' programme at the Press Club here today, Lord Paul said that more investment in power, for example, would not benefit the country if the generation is down at 60 per cent of the capacity and 30 per cent of the power generated is lost by pilferage.

Economic diplomacy, he said, has become central to international diplomacy. ``Diplomacy alone has no value,'' Lord Paul, who has been designated Ambassador for British business, said. Like the British Prime Ministers, Indian Prime Ministers too had started taking business delegations abroad.

He said that there was lack of transparency in the Indian business system though there had been improvement in recent years. He had to withdraw from the take-over of Escorts and DCM in the early 80s due to non-transparency in the system.

He said that Government policies should be aimed at improving productivity. The results of economic reforms in India had not been very good. The country needed to create more wealth. The Government, however, did not want to open up too fast. The poor would benefit if prices come down, and the prices would come down only if there is competition. Any businessman, including himself, would sell things cheap only if there is competition. The system in India had become rotten due to the mixed economy and corruption.

The Lord said he did encourage British investment in India. Partnerships with Indians could be fruitful. The State Industries Minister had told him that Kerala was keen on having foreign investment. However, Kerala had under-marketed itself. There was little on the Internet about investment prospects in Kerala.

Lord Paul said that the greatest achievement of India was its democracy. Its greatest moment was when the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, handed over power after the elections in 1977.

Asked about how he viewed the imposition of Emergency by Indira Gandhi, Lord Paul said that everybody would make a mistake. However, one should not forget that she did hold the elections and hand over power (when defeated). She was one of the tallest political figures of the last century.

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