Indian business tycoon Ratan Tata has said lack of govt support was preventing Indian industry from competing with China.
New Delhi, Dec 8/Nationalturk -Lashing out at Indian government for ‘driving’ investments away, Indian business tycoon Ratan Tata has said that lack of government support was preventing Indian industry from competing with China.
In an interview to London based newspaper, Financial Times ahead of his retirement as chairman this month, Ratan Tata said lack of government support was preventing Indian industry from competing with China.
He will be stepping down on December 28 when he turns 75.
Tata, a sprawling conglomerate whose portfolio ranges from salt to software, has earned itself a global reputation for its eye-catching purchases of Western companies such as Jaguar Land Rover and Corus Steel.
Rattan Tata told the newspaper that his group planned to look to other emerging markets for expansion and accused Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of forcing it to look abroad by failing to address complaints about bureaucracy.
Tata, whose global sales total USD 100.9 billion, said investors were being deterred from India and complained that it still took the best part of a decade to gain clearance for major projects.
Tata suffered investment setbacks due to government’s inability to make decisions
He noted that his group had suffered a succession of investment setbacks in India in recent years, largely owing to the government’s inability to make decisions. “Different agencies in the government have almost contradictory interpretations of the law, or interpretations of what should be done. These are things which by and large would drive investors away in most other countries,” he said.
Referring to his disappointment with Indian authorities, he said, “You may have the Prime Minister’s Office saying one thing and maybe one of the ministers having a different view. That doesn’t happen in most countries. You wouldn’t have a seven- or eight-year wait to get clearance for a steel plant.”
Comparing Indian government’s attitude with that of its counterpart China, where Tata Company recently opened a Jaguar Land Rover factory, Rattan Tata said, “There is a great, marked difference in government support. If we had the same kind of encouragement, I think India could compete definitely with China.”
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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk India Business News
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