Centre seeks India Inc support for WTO meet

Veeshal Bakshi

New Delhi, Oct 30: The next time you hear apex industry bodies applauding the Union Government’s economic policies, take it with a pinch of salt. For, the accolades would be more to pander to the ego of political masters and bureaucrats rather than giving a frank opinion on behalf of the industry.

The real opinion is available to mediapersons but on conditions of ‘strict anonymity’.

The latest ‘informal missive’ by the Government to the Indian industry is on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) summit at Doha. India Inc has been ‘directed’ to support the Government’s opposition to the next round of negotiations at Doha till the concerns of the developing countries are addressed.

Referring to commerce and industry minister Murasoli Maran’s rhetoric, the president of a prominent industry association said: “The horse (read Mr Maran) is growing taller and taller and will find it extremely difficult to come down. If he (again Mr Maran) keeps repeating the same thing, it jarrs.....”

The captains of Indian industry are worried over the fallout of India’s stubborn stand in the face of developed world’s insistence on going ahead with the next round. US trade representative Robert Zoellick did not mince words during his visit to New Delhi a few months ago in telling India that his country will not wait for India to make up its mind on the next round.

German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, too, utilised an industry forum to put the message across to India. Interestingly, Mr Schroeder was also told from the podium that he has delivered “an outstanding speech”! Mr Zoellick, too, was greeted with the same ‘outstanding’ response. Though the Indian industry is unhappy, even worried, at the way things are shaping up for the Doha summit, it is reluctant to stick its neck out to make statements which may upset the Government. Industry insiders say Government’s instructions on WTO are not an isolated case. The build up against the industry started a few months ago. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and finance minister Yashwant Sinha have used various fora to chide the Indian corporate sector for seeking sops from the Government to pull themselves out of the economic slowdown.