He was addressing a press conference on the eve of the three-day summit to be inaugurated here on Thursday by Union minister of foreign affairs Jaswant Singh.

Birla said that India's growth rate of 5 per cent was too low and that it should be at least 8 per cent per annum.

Birla said India's macro-economic fundamentals are still strong compared with some other south Asian countries and if the reforms process was speeded up, things would be different. He said corporates must pay special attention to quality management.

The three-day summit would be attended by over 1,000 delegates from India and abroad and would discuss, among other things, the country's preparedness for the new millennium and the lessons to be drawn from the ongoing south Asian crisis.

The buzzwordtoday is ``corporate governance,'' Birla said, underlying the need for a new partnership between the industry and the government. He said that the government should work for faster growth without fuelling inflation. Further, on matters related to infrastructure, the government must take prompt decisions, he said.

Birla, who is also chairman of the Calcutta-based Hindustan Motors, said special focus would have to be laid on higher growth, cost management, HRD and productivity.

CII (northern region) chairman Arun Bharatram said that the summit, the fifth organised by CII, provided a unique forum for forging partnerships worldwide. In reply to a question, he denied that the May nuclear blasts had led to a muted response to the summit from delegates abroad.

Bharatram said that the government should speed up the reforms process to attract foreign direct investment.

Also present on the occasion was Rajasthan industry secretary Arvind Mayaram. He said the state had a lot to offer as it had a rich mineralwealth. The tourism industry could do wonders in Rajasthan, he added.