Budget '97 Highlights
The seventh largest and second most populous
country in the world, India has long been considered a country of unrealised
potential. A new spirit of economic freedom is now stirring in the country,
bringing sweeping changes in its wake. A series of ambitious economic reforms
aimed at deregulating the country and stimulating foreign investment has
moved India firmly into the front ranks of the rapidly growing Asia Pacific
region and unleashed the latent strengths of a complex and rapidly changing
nation.
India's process of economic reform is firmly rooted in a political consensus
that spans her diverse political parties. India's democracy is a known
and stable factor, which has taken deep roots over nearly half a century.
Importantly, India has no fundamental conflict between its political and
economic systems. Its political institutions have fostered an open society
with strong collective and individual rights and an environment supportive
of free economic enterprise.
India's time tested institutions offer foreign investors a transparent
environment that guarantees the security of their long term investments.
These include a free and vibrant press, a judiciary which can and does
overrule the government, a sophisticated legal and accounting system and
a user friendly intellectual infrastructure. India's dynamic and highly
competitive private sector has long been the backbone of its economic activity.
It accounts for over 75% of its Gross Domestic Product and offers considerable
scope for joint ventures and collaborations.
Today, India is one of the most exciting emerging
markets in the world. Skilled managerial and technical manpower that match
the best available in the world and a middle class whose size exceeds the
population of the USA or the European Union, provide India with a distinct
cutting edge in global competition.
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