The organisers are confident that political uncertainty this week will not cast a shadow on the event slated to be held in Delhi from April 20 to 23.

Says Wisitex Foundation's chairman Y L Arora, "Infrastructure no more has anything to do with politics. It has been accepted, politically and socially, that infrastructure is needed. Every political forum has to give importance to it."

Wisitex Foundation and the India Investment Centre (IIC), a government of India organisation under the ministry of finance are the sponsors of the event. the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) is a co-sponsor.

According to IIC chairman A R Nanda, the event is an extension of IIC's promotionalactivities. "IIC is a nodal government agency for promoting overseas investment in the country and also for facilitating private Indian investment abroad."

The event is second in the series. The first one, organised in 1997, provided a platform for informal interaction between state governments, consultants, Indian and foreign companies and the investors. This year the event will not only have seminars but also an exhibition.

"We will take stock of where we are, where do we go from here and are there still any issues which are not clear in the minds of investors," said Nanda.

Though IIC is a government body, Nanda claimed that they were not here to merely defend the government policies but put it in a perspective during the four days.

IIC will also follow up the issues raised during the event with the respective governments, authorities and institutions. "We are at a crucial stage. Major part of the first generation reforms have taken place. What we require now is quicker implementation and less ofbureaucratic red-tapism. We want to bring this message in sharp focus," said Nanda.