NEW DELHI, May 1: Improved information-flow between countries on capital flows and tight regulation of financial markets can help prevent crises like the South-east Asian meltdown, Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha said in his address at the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at Geneva on Friday.There were weaknesses present in countries which receive funds from international bilateral agencies as well as in the international financial system which funnels large volumes of short term funds into these countries, he remarked.Calling for ``symmetric financial regulations'' to enforce an equal discipline on lending institutions and borrowing countries, he conceded that borrowers have to now accept capital mobility as a way of life.Sinha said developing countries need to calibrate capital account liberalisation, especially short-term capital flows, very carefully. Highlighting the need for a global consensus on how to handle the crisis, the minister warned that in the internationalarena there is no lender of the last resort with enough resources as there is the domestic banking world.The finance minister extended support to the initiatives taken by the ADB for the recovery of crisis-ridden economies. The circumstances were indeed exceptional to warrant a departure from the bank's traditional focus, he said.Sinha lauded the bank's assistance programme for reforming the public sector, encouraging privatisation and developing policies and regulatory framework for private sector participation in infrastructure. The bank, he said, could play a catalytic role in raising resources to strengthen weak financial systems and markets.On the economic transformation taking place in India, he said the BJP-led government was committed to broaden and deepen the reform process. ``It will aim to achieve a GDP growth of seven to eight per cent over the next five years,'' he said. He highlighted the need to consolidate the strengths and address the weaknesses in the reform process.Reiteratingthe government's commitment to stimulate the agricultural economy, increase investment in social sectors and expand both private and public investments in private sector, he said the government would seek to increase domestic savings.
