Faheem Al-Hamid Okaz/Saudi Gazette NEW DELHI — Jesudasu Seelam, Minister of State for Finance, has said that India values its relations with Saudi Arabia and we want the ties to be more cordial and strategic while also wanting good relations with all the Arab countries. As you'll we too have a policy. As a policy our country has been having very cordial relationship with all the Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia. We are very happy about it and hopeful that things can be improved always for mutual benefit. We hope that the forthcoming visit of the Saudi Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, will further enhance this strategic relations especially in the economic and investment areas. He also said that India is a favored destination for investments and hoped that Saudis would look into the many areas of offer for foreign direct investments (FDIs). “We have many areas, so many infrastructure projects where we welcome investment from outside the country,” he said in an interview with Okaz/Saudi Gazette. Here are the excerpts: • Since India and Saudi Arabia are both members of G20, how can both work together to enhance and revive the international economy and for a better world order? Our effort is to work for democracy, freedom, and then equality and equity; these are all core principles of democracy. India is a plural society so in consonance with our national values, we also extend mutual cooperation with all the other countries. Similarly, since Saudi Arabia is also a member of G20, I am sure that we can work together for a better world order where you know every member of the G20 gets the feeling that they are equal partners. • What areas do you feel that investments can be done? We have many areas so many infrastructure projects. Basically we want to improve the living conditions of our people and the highways, the ports, the communications, power, information technology. These are the areas where we would request the investment from outside the country. Of course we have provided an enabling environment where there is a foreign investment board, which takes care of all necessary clearances and also a robust economy. Indian scene is a very-very favorable for investment because we have a stable democracy, we have accountability, we have a good set of principles laid down and you see the most and very important advantage is more than half of our 1.2 billion populations are below 25 years. It is a huge potential for growth, potential for development and that's one of the major things. Secondly, we have Indians everywhere in the globe. They are into power sector, mining sector, they are into IT, infrastructure building all over the globe. In oil exploration we have experts. Our strengths is that we have very stable economic system, our fundamentals are very strong, we have a manageable current account deficit, a stable currency we have a stable banking system, thanks to our late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, we have banking system which insulated us from the 2008, world recession. There is no recession in India, there is only fluctuation of the value of rupee and we never had a recession. • How can Saudi investments help India? Saudi investments can be in the exploration of oil because they have the expertise. Commerce Ministry and the Department of Economic Affairs would be able to tell you in a greater detail. As far as, economic situation is concerned, it's very favorable destination and I can tell you from the Human Resource point of view, and the technology point of view, we have the best engineers in the world. So I think India is a stable country, it is credit worthy country; India has a legacy of maintaining good relations with other countries especially Saudi Arabia. We value their friendship and it has been the tradition for long. Salman Khurshid our a Foreign Minister enjoys good rapport and Madam Sonia Gandhi always gives lot of importance to relation with our friends and neighbor, and so I think we are well placed to improve our friendly relations and relations with the friendly people of Saudi Arabia. • How did India deal with the international recession to maintain its economic balances? We started increasing our manufacturing capacity; we stressed on increasing the manufacturing goods. For, instance we have certain restrictions on import of big screen TVs, which could be manufactured in India. Similarly, we are now resolving pending clearances where our export potential is held up for instance iron ore, the tons and tons of iron filings which we don't use and where we can export and get foreign exchange. • Iron filings like scrap? No-no, iron ore filings. There is potential for export and then lots of foreign exchange could be earned and we are also trying to reduce the import of coal, because the domestic coal is enough to meet our requirements. So, we are developing the coal sector and then trying to reduce the burden of importing coal. So I think overall our exchange earnings are increasing, our current account deficit is coming down, fiscal deficit is also in control and we are within manageable levels compared to the GDP. I think we have a fairly robust economic system where foreign investment can come in infrastructure and then even we would welcome foreign investment in agriculture like storage, transport. • There is the anti-dumping issue. How are you dealing with this issue, I mean especially to safeguard? Yes, we have various safeguard duties, it is not in general. We take specific products measures as and when required. • You are very keen to solve this issue? Of course, very simply we need to engage in negotiations, to talk to the people, taking our domestic industries interests in view and then at the same time we must also see that the opportunities are open to everybody. This is, you know, necessary for a win-win situation. • With regards to your ministry how did you handle the revenues of your country in 2013? Basically I look after the tax collection. We collect around more than 12 Lakh Crores of rupees. We have service-tax; we have customs, central excise, income tax, and corporate tax. Our collection is in the right direction. We hope to achieve our target by the end of the March 31, so I have no problem in achieving those targets. It is around $200 billion per year and then we spend little more than that. • With the political changes that are taking place with AAP stealing the political high ground, how do you see the Congress Party performing and where does it stand in the prevailing situation? Congress is not limited to any particular section; it is a way of life in India. Congress Party is present in all the 600,000 villages in India. It's a party with an ideology of mutual benefit in every section and then it is all for inclusive ideology. See India is a country with lot of diversities, you have innumerable number of languages, you have many religions, you have cultural diversity, you have regional imbalances and you have various social traditions. We have 1.2 billion population, as I said earlier, more than half of it is below 25 years. Our middle class is almost 300 million people. It is a great country with so much variation, so much difference in social strata but Congress Party takes care of everybody. It has a place for all sections of society. That is how Congress Party is, and it will never be disturbed by emergence of parties like Aam Aadmi Party; AAP is the latest because all that Congress Party was saying earlier is what AAP is doing now, Rahul Gandhi said it two years ago, but unfortunately whatever he said could not be operationalized by the Congress Party. We have enacted what is called a Lok Pal bill. For the last 60 years in this country, people have being trying to enact a legal framework for halting, eradicating, eliminating corruption in public life and the credit simply goes to the Congress Party and to Rahul Gandhi's leadership. He has pushed it and pushed it so that it ultimately became a reality. I am happy today, it got the president's assent and it has become an Act. Now we have a Lok Pal in place and before that what we enacted the ‘Right to Information' Act, which has revolutionized the era of transparency in this country. Congress Party's ideology suits all sections. It has a place for all the sections of the society — youth, and the elderly. • The economic areas how your party will frame its policy with election coming closer? Our effort is to remove hunger and poverty from this country. For the last 10 to 20 years starting from 1991 to 2011 we have made at least 30 million people cross the poverty line. Their economic levels have been upgraded and they are earning more, they are spending more. We have a country with you know 57% consumption, and consumption led growth. Our growth rate has been constant and average growth rate in this 20 years is 7%. Nowhere you'll come across this rate of growth. See there are periods where we have grown at 9%, there are periods where we have grown at 4.55% but the average growth is 7% in this 20 years. There are ups and down. • Does this means that the economic policy will be the same if your party wins the forthcoming elections? Yes, they will continue because our economic policies are not static they are dynamic. Our focus is growth with equity and equality. We need to grow but that growth should be spread among the people. People should get empowered. They should get jobs, they should be able to earn, they should look after their family, their quality of life should improve, living conditions should improve, they should get very good housing. We have also enacted a Law for ‘Right to Food'. Nobody in this country will die of starvation, now, for along with Right to Work we have enacted National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Earlier people used to migrate from one place to another in search of work. We have enacted what is called Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantees Act. • Why did your party lose the provincial elections. Did the people reject Congress? No, that's because we don't sell what we our doing, we are very bad at publicity, we could not market, let it be very clear. • So are you sure that Congress will rebuild its image in the next election? We need to market because our political rivals are able to do it — very effectively, very attractively. We see normally for so many years our approach has been traditional and the people are our marketing agents. But somehow over a period of time, India has seen emergence of regional political parties at the local end. Thus regionalism has grown and that's very unfortunate for a country like India. • Is AAP considered as a threat to you? No-no it's not a threat because we need to what is called internalize these developments. We should also think more regionally. We should develop our leadership at the regional level that's it. Congress Party is going to do that and that's what Rahul Gandhi has said, our strength lies in regional level leaders. So we are developing a set of regional level leaders from various sections for instance, the marginalized sections, the minorities, the backward classes and the developed communities. For each section of the society, we are developing regional leaders. • Is Congress going to adopt a simple approach like Aam Aadmi Party? Most of our people are living simple life. But you know we have rich people in other political parties. Madam Sonia Gandhi always insists in simplicity and austerity, these are our core values. • People have voted for AAP because they are fighting corruption. What is your comment? No they are just talking. Talking is not enough. Who has enacted the law? The ‘Right to Information' is the basis on which transparency has become a thing in this country and that's done by Congress Party and the Lok Pal bill is an instrument of eradicating corruption. Congress has enacted these. Congress Party is answer for India, because it reflects the plurality of the Indian society. It reflects the commitment of the society's requirement. You know farmers require a set of programs, and women are being empowered. We have started what is called the Bharatiya Mahila Bank, the Indian Women Bank, to empower women in a financial structured approach. Ours is the structured and rights-based approach where every requirement is addressed. Yes, I understand that the way it is delivered may be little slow, we can always improve the delivery mechanism, whereas the theory and the ideology is suited to the country's varied interest.
