Courtesy: UNI
Mangalore, Feb 13: Dr C Rangarajan, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, today spelt out a two-fold approach to enable the country to meet the challenges posed by globalisation.
Delivering the convocation address at the 24th annual convocation of the Mangalore University at Konaje, about 20 km from here, he asserted that in the globalised era, India was in a better position to wrest significant gains if it voiced its concerns and modified international trade arrangements in tandem with other developing countries to take care of the special needs of such countries. At the same time, the country must identify and strengthen its comparitive advantages, he added.
"Our trade system should be reformed and we must take necessary actions to realise the full potential of globalisation,'' he said.
Stressing that India's growth lay in improving productivity and efficiency, Dr Rangarajan said that contrary to general perception, India's natural resources were not large and hence there was an urgent need to manage the resources with greater efficiency.
"In a capital-scarce economy like ours, efficient utilisation of our capacity becomes even more critical. To make this happen, we need well-trained and highly skilled people...The world cannot marginalise India, but India, if it chooses, can marginalise itself and we should guard ourselves against this danger." Though the growth in capital and foreign exchange markets had facilitated transfer of resources across the borders in the globalised era, volatility in these markets had often created panic, the former RBI Governor said.
Dr Rangarajan described the outcome of the recently-concluded Hong Kong summit of WTO as 'modest success' and said "despite reservations, we must acknowledge that it was a step forward.
Domestic support to agriculture by developed countries stood as a stumbling block to third world trade expansion. India's stand in relation to agriculture has been defensive. India, on its own, committed to reduce the tariff on industrial products. Though it was only a broad statement of intentions at the Hong Kong meet, much will depend on how these ideas are translated into concrete actions."