Date:01/02/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/02/01/stories/2003020103142000.htm

Business

Govt. aware of leather sector issues

By R. Gopalakrishnan

CHENNAI JAN. 31. Declaring that the Union Government "is fully aware of the requirements of the leather industry," the Union Minister of State for Commerce, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, today appealed to entrepreneurs both within India and abroad to "speak out" about the achievements of the country in economic reform and the results it has showed in the areas of infrastructure and disinvestment.

Inaugurating the 18th India International Leather Fair (IILF 2003), organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) at the Chennai Trade Centre (CTC), Mr. Rudy, who took up the new portfolio recently, asked industrialists as also visitors from abroad to look at the world-class roads already built, even if on limited stretches, and the improved performance of privatised public sector enterprises such as Modern Food Industries and Bharat Aluminium (Balco) or the spread of the use of wireless technology as a result of the government being prepared to allow non-government organisations to use the technology.

Mr. Rudy's inaugural speech was largely devoted to the rationale behind the economic reform, especially the objective of garnering resources for human development, untenability of criticisms of reforms and the reality of building a national consensus over it in the given political situation in India with a plethora political parties and 28 States. He took pains to emphasise that the government considered industry its "partners in business" — partners who had their own responsibility including speaking out on the success of the reforms so far in improving infrastructure conditions and thus the competitiveness of Indian industry.

"How do you convince a Laloo Prasad Yadav or a Mulayam Singh Yadav about the need for reform," he said, referring to the vast sections of unorganised industry and labour who had been deprived of the benefits of development and technology, while businesses in the organised sector were not able to close down without permission of government if they happened to have more than a mere 100 employees. He described Bihar as a State of `neo-Talibans' where "male doctors cannot treat female patients because there are no doctors at all and where television cannot spread its influence because there is no TV at all".

Mr. Rudy said he was aware that the leather industry was a sector in which Muslims were substantially involved. "India's Muslims, who are the second largest Muslim population in the world, are our prized citizens. It is to ensure that our Muslims are not attacked every time there is a cross-border terrorist intrusion that the government is determined in its fight against terrorism," he said.

The Chairman and Managing Director of the ITPO, J. Vasudevan, said the convention centre with a seating capacity of 1,200, being built at the CTC (which is a joint venture of the ITPO and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation) would be ready by IILF 2004. Mr. Rudy later distributed CLE's export awards to entrepreneurs in various segments of the leather sector.