Don't be negative,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told India Inc today,but didn't hold out any promise that might bring corporates on board. Yet,Mr Singh has come a long way since the fatherly scolding he gave industrialists at the 2007 annual general meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industries when we had asked them to behave responsibly. He had said: ''I invite corporate India to be a partner in making ours a more humane and just society. We need a new Partnership for Inclusive Growth based on,as what I would describe as,a Ten-Point Social Charter.'' And gone on to touch upon,much to the shock of India Inc,''respect for workers,flexible labour laws,corporate social responsibility,employment for the less privileged,low wages for bosses,demolishing cartels,socially responsible advertising'' etc. By the time he ended with 'India is Bharat',India Inc was wincing and many had their mouths open. Today's speech on a similar occasion though short of any concrete ideas at least saw Mr Singh admit that: * growth is an abysmal 5 per cent (though 'we can get back to 9'), * corruption and inertia are rampant in bureaucracy, * there has been major decline in private sector investment The Prime Minister,however,touched upon two factors as partly responsible for the 'unduly pessimistic business mood' today: the global factor and coalition politics. The political nuance is,perhaps,necessary given the elections next year,but what has the government done to boost investment in the last few years? Decision-making has slowed down,reforms are frozen,fiscal deficit is soaring and there is little control over expenditure. It is time to look within. Last estimates show over 5 lakh crore worth of investment is stuck due to lack of environment clearance or hurdles at the bureaucratic end. There is no signal from the government on when projects will be cleared and no (at least,not in public) chastising of the Environment Ministry. Even the National Investment Board,which is headed by the PM himself,has hardly taken off. Not to mention the pitiable condition of infrastructure the least kilometres of road were added last year and modernisation of most airports are pending. Should the corporate be enthused,partly when they see taxes slapped on foreign investors? There is a widespread sense of distress in the industry,sources said,and caution why should we invest we invest in the next two years? Dear Mr Prime Minister, One bad decision and all the world's boardrooms are talking about it. One good decision,and.
