We146;re committed to labour reforms: PM

The long list of pending economic legislations obviously seems to be a cause of worry for the Prime Minister. Calling for a political consen...

The long list of pending economic legislations obviously seems to be a cause of worry for the Prime Minister. Calling for a political consensus on the pending economic legislations, the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee expressed his government8217;s commitment in pushing forward labour reforms. The recent spate of accounting scandals in the US also caught Vajpayee8217;s attention as the Prime Minister called upon the Indian Inc to follow good corporate governance.

Speaking at the meeting of the Prime Minister8217;s Council on Trade and Industry, Vajpayee listed out the economic legislative changes which the government has been able to accomplish. The meeting on Wednesday, which was attended among others by leading industrialises like Ratan Tata, Nusli Wadia, Sashi Ruia, Rajiv Chandrashekar and heads of apex chambers like Ficci and CII, focussed specifically on two economic legislatiions8212;the Electricity Bill 2001 and the Petroleum Regulatory Bill. Among the prominent absentees were Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, Rahul Bajaj and Kumar Mangalam Birla.

nbsp;	FM plans to boost consumer spending	nbsp;
NEW DELHI: Finance minister Jaswant Singh said that he planned to put forward 8216;specific proposals8217; to boost consumer spending. Talking to the media, Singh said that 8216;unless consumers consume, how can the economy expand? I wish to come out with some specific proposals to increase spending,8217; Singh said but did not give any time frame for the proposals.

In the media briefing, however, the chambers did not miss the opportunity to criticise the bill on the non performing assets the ordinance for Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets stating that in the present form the bill is too harsh. The chambers think that a proper distinction be made between wilful and non wilful defaulters. The new Finance Minister Jaswant Singh was prompt to react on the issue stating that the ministry would have a relook at the ordinance.

nbsp;	PM8217;s wishlist on economic reforms	nbsp;
8226; Labour reforms to be pushed forward vigorously. 8226; Political consensus to complete legislative agenda. 8226; Speeding up disinvestment process 8226; Scheme to modernise Indian Railways 8226; To implement an appropriate legal and institional framework to attract more FDI. 8226; Need to put in place good corporate governance by Indian Inc.

According Vajpayee, the government would push forward labour reforms now that the second National Labour Commission has already submitted its report. Vajpayee also promised to accelerate the process of PSU disinvestment by divesting government8217;s holding in most of the PSUs, except those in strategic sector. He said that the resources raised from disinvestment would be used for the social sector.

Underlining the need to attract larger volumes of foreign direct investment, Vajpayee said 8220;I hope that the Expert Committee in the Planning Commission would submit its recommendations soon. It is necessary to have an appropriate legal and institutional framework for increasing the flow of FDI8221;.

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Stating that the GDP would grow by over 6 per cent this year, Vajpayee said that he was confident that the economy would further prosper in the 8220;strong and able hands8221; of Jaswant Singh and pointed out that reforms had moved fast despite the situation on the borders.