Manmohan urges industry to focus more on exports

MUMBAI, Dec 16: The former union finance minister, Manmohan Singh on Tuesday urged industrialists to mount an aggressive export drive in or...

MUMBAI, Dec 16: The former union finance minister, Manmohan Singh on Tuesday urged industrialists to mount an aggressive export drive in order to protect the credit worthiness of the country. Speaking at the Godrej Memorial Lecture Series in Mumbai, Singh said India’s ability to sustain substantial inflows of foreign private investment depends on the growth of country’s exports.

"Sooner or later, payments abroad on account of royalties and dividends arising out of inflows of private investment could become a source of strain on the balance of payments, if exports earnings do not rise fast enough," he said.

Singh was of the view that due to rich resources available in the country, exports can easily grow at a rate of 20 per cent.

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Singh said, India should learn from the experience of China where overseas capital has played a major role in boosting exports.

"The Chinese have laid emphasis on the employment and export effects of foreign direct investment and, thereby emerged as a major global player in a period of less than a decade, " he added.