Guwahati, Saturday, November 8,
2003
CITY
�High growth rate must for Indian
economy�
By A Staff
Reporter
GUWAHATI, Nov 7 � The largest of the Indian companies,
Reliance, is in fact 1/18th the size of the largest of the US companies
Wal-Mart. While the latter has an annual sales of US dollars 240 billions or Rs
10, 80, 000 crore, the former has an annual sales of Rs 58, 000 crore or US
dollar 13 billions.
But then, Wal-Mart is a retailer-cum-wholesaler
firm with 2,200 stores in the USA and a few hundred more in countries like the
UK, Germany and China. Each of its stores is as large as two or three football
fields. Everything, right from potatoes, onions and milk to medicines to TVs to
clothes is available in any of these stores.
However, Wal-Mart
imports goods worth US dollars 15 billions from China and its total import
accounts for about 1/10th of the over 150 billion-worth US imports in a year.
These were the revelations made by Jukti Kalita, Vice President, Marketing
Strategy, Merrill Lynch, New Jersey, USA, while delivering a talk on comparison
of the US and Indian economics at the Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC)
of Cotton College on Wednesday. The Indian economy must attain a growth rate,
which will see the country on the driving seat in the coming years. Though a
rate of 10 per cent or even higher than that for the purpose may seem to be an
arduous one to attain, yet it is not an impossible one, he
said.
For the high growth rate, monetary and fiscal policies need
to be coordinated well. Besides, fundamental changes to the structure of the
economy have to be achieved for the purpose of expediting the process of growth,
he said. He also laid stress on improving the infrastructure and bringing about
changes to in the judicial and social systems. Why not the central government
with a standing army that is several millions strong, utilise them during the
long periods of peace to build the country�s infrastructure, he
wondered.
Kalita also participated in an interaction with the
participants of the EDC training programme designed to impart training to the
aspirant entrepreneurs in renewable energy devices, which started on October 29
and will continue till November 24. Chander Mohan, Director (Technical
Division), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, released
the second volume of the EDC journal Journey Ahead in the latter part of the
day.
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