Election result could open up India’s markets

IN his home constituency of Chhindwara, India’s trade minister Kamal Nath is treated almost like a deity.
As his helicopter swooped down to the villages of rural Madhya Pradesh on the general-election campaign last week, farmers swarmed to kiss his feet, greeting him with chants of “Kamal Nath is our leader.”
Nath has been a hailed a hero by the local community for creating jobs and improving education but, away from the election fray, he has plans for India on a global scale.
Nath told The Sunday Times that his party, Congress, wants more British and other foreign investment if it wins the election, and is looking for a new boost to Anglo-Indian business links.
“In the current global economic crisis new opportunities will be thrown up and it is for us to identify these,” he said.
“British innovation and technology will have a huge market in India. It is India’s domestic-driven economic growth that will throw up these opportunities.”
The Indian economy is one of the fastest growing in the world and has the fourth-largest purchasing power, but foreign investment in certain sectors has been hampered by Byzantine legislation and protectionist policies.