In his inaugural address at the India Economic Summit 2000 organised by the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mr Vajpayee said the business and industry, especially foreign investors, must have a long-term commitment to India as this is the only way to build trust and a sustained relationship.

Sending out a clear message that his government would pursue economic policies which benefit all sections of society, Mr Vajpayee said, "We will globalise to India's advantage."

"The industry should adhere to free and fair competition in the interest of consumers. Let us not follow the path of monopolies and cartels that serve the cause of a few at the cost of many," Mr Vajpayee said in a speech which was focussed on obligations which should go hand-in-hand with opportunities provided by globalisation.

Mr Vajpayee asked the Indian and foreign companies to be transparent. "This is an issue that concerns small investors, minority shareholders and investing public," he said.

The Prime Minister exhorted the industry to invest more and more in human resource development by way of allocation of more funds and time for training, re-training and education of employees and their families.

He reminded the industry that technology was driving change. "With India's outstanding scientific, technological and engineering talent, it will benefit everybody if you focus on research and development, innovation and technology building."

Mr Vajpayee asked foreign companies to look at India as a profitable location not merely for out-sourcing of information technology services, but also for manufacturing, in which India has a strong tradition.

Highlighting the importance of clean environment, the Prime Minister said industry should be sensitive to environmental concerns by insisting on high standards of pollution control and ecological management.

He asked the industry to reach out to rural sector not merely because it was large, but because the needs of rural India could not be bypassed.

Exhorting the industry to help the government in meeting the massive challenge of providing education and healthcare facilities to every family, Mr Vajpayee said, "Can each of CII's 4,000 member companies and 300 foreign companies represented here take charge of at least one primary school and one healthcare centre to supplement government's efforts in the social sector."

The Prime Minister said though the inevitability of globalisation was recognised by all, misgivings about it had become more and more pronounced during the last one year which was evident from increasingly vigorous protests in Seattle, Prague, Bangkok, Melbourne and Davos.

"A serious analysis of the protests will show that we cannot ignore the facts that there are many misgivings and apprehensions cutting across nations," he said.

Mr Vajpayee said one of the reasons for opposition to globalisation across the universe could be because it was increasingly being perceived to be elite-driven, conferring benefits on large corporates while bypassings millions of poor, marginalised people.

Listing out the nine focus areas of his government, the Prime Minister said new economy industries such as "IT, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology are in the forefront of government's attention."

Fresh road construction contracts of 2500 km will be awarded by March 2001. The government plans to build 6,000-km road network by 2003 and another 7000 km by 2007.

He said several crippling problems of the power sector had been addressed to. "Many state government have constituted independent tariff regulatory authorities. An Electricity Bill, 2000 is in the offing. Our recent review suggests that as many as 10 power projects can reach financial closure by March, 2001," he said.

The government's privatisation policy involved important strategic sales in several areas which should strengthen the country's competitive efficiency. He said the government will continue to give priority to social sector development, particularly health, drinking water, primary education and rural road construction.