"Enterprises operating in India need to be calibrated for their `Indian-ness' on the basis of the net value that they capture for the Indian economy over time and need to be supported for such contribution", Deveshwar said according to a statement issued by the Rs 8,000 crore tobacco giant.The demand by the chairman of one of the largest corporate houses of the country has given a new perspective to the decade-old debate along the lines of `swadeshi' versus `videshi' raging since Manmohan Singh launched his economic reforms in 1991.

Deveshwar, however, made it clear that determinant of `Indian-ness' of a business enterprise should be the `net economic value' that it captures for the domestic economy over time, irrespective of the place of origin of the capital.

The ITC chairman made a clear distinction from the hitherto demand for protection to `swadeshi' companies and went on to point out that even foreign capital invested in India, which contributes to the country's economy, needs to be supported.

Deveshwar quoted Charles Schwab and Claude Smadja of the World Economic Forum who had pointed out that in the new order of priorities set by the Clinton administration, US corporations located in the USA were first in line for protection, foreign corporations located in the US second and US corporations operating outside the country a mere third.

The ITC chairman argued, "India, too, should not shy away from a similar pursuit of enlightened self interest."He clarified that an `Indian enterprise' was the one that created and captured value for the domestic economy and contributed to the virtuous economic cycle of investment, creation of jobs and related demand, and generation and redeployment of surpluses for economic growth, with fair reward to shareholders, irrespective of the ownership of the capital.

Deveshwar also made a powerful plea that the governance and disclosure guidelines mandated by Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for listed companies in India needed to be made applicable to unlisted subsidiaries of foreign companies operating in the country.This, he said, was to "enable public evaluation of their net value contribution to the Indian economy".