Jamshedpur, March 20: With the South Asian markets are emerging fast and maturing at a rapid pace, Eastern States will be the most likely candidate for the growth centre of the country.
That was the consensus among the experts taking part in the sessions organized coinciding with the CII Eastern Regional Conference on Building East Driving India, held in Kolkata.
Gautam Mukhopadhaya,�Ambassador of India to Myanmar, said things are beginning to change. �An ASEAN Economic Community with a unified market and a three-year grace period for the less developed CMLV countries is scheduled to come into place by the end of this year,� he said.
According to him, the largest trade partners and investors are still Myanmar�s immediate neighbours to the north and east, China and Thailand, with formal trade and investment figures of $10 bn and $14 bn, and $6bn and $10bn respectively.
�By comparison, our trade and investment figures at $2bn and $500 million respectively may look sorry, but they are not as bad as they appear to be if you consider the heastart they have had in Myanmar market over the past decades when we were inhibited by both the politics of Myanmar and our own caution of our own banks and businesses,� he said.
Sumit Mazumder,�President Designate, CII & CMD, TIL Ltd, said India is the only country which has moved from agriculture to services, not manufacturing. �India is a country where aspirations are growing among millions of young people. I believe that if the demographic dividend is to be reaped, manufacturing is the only answer,� said Mr Mazumder.
In his view, mining could be the nodal point of spreading growth. This is a sector which needs to be tapped to spawn a new era of growth and development in Eastern States which are opulently rich in mineral resources, he said.
Viresh Oberoi, Chairman,�CII Eastern Region, CEO & MD, mjunction services ltd;�said there is absolutely no reason why Eastern Region, which is so rich in mineral resources and human capital will not lead the growth chart.
RAdm A K Verma (Retd),�Deputy Chairman, CII Eastern Region & CMD, GRSE Ltd; who delivered the vote of thanks, said ease of doing business in all the five eastern states, and working closely with the state governments and the vast improvement of infrastructure in the region will continue to dominate the agenda of CII Eastern Region.
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said CII has firmly laid its focus on entrepreneurship. That explains why it has signed an MoU with Lee Kuan Yew School for Public Policy (LKYSPP) of the National University of Singapore. �It�s a tripartite agreement between CII, LKYSPP and the State Governments in India. There is no profit-making motive on the part of LKYSPP,� he said.