‘Manage the present industrial scenario well’
Addressing students, Mr. Kaul recalled his student days and said now youngsters are more independent, take decisions on their own and are able to decide the path they want to choose unlike in the past when decisions were made by parents and elders in the family.Calling upon students to have a vision and clarity to achieve their goal, he stressed the importance of team work and the need for sharpening communication and presentation skills. The country needs good leaders to move forward in its growth path.
“Life may not be smooth, but my experience outside India has showed that Indians manage pressures much better than others”.“Indians learn the hard way, but have risen to great heights,” Mr. Kaul said and advised the students to make sure that they understand what job they were looking for, before jumping the gun.Mr. Ramaswami, on the other hand, took the students through the current politico-economic situation.
Asking the students to visualise a truly developed India, free from poverty and hunger, excellent education and infrastructure, he said “to support this, a rapid pace of growth, a transformation in the real sense is necessary.’” He pointed out that to achieve 8-9 per cent growth in GDP, industry and services would have to grow 12 – 13 per cent. “Country needs a sustained growth rate with a good tax regime. It is a delicate balance, but not impossible,” Mr. Ramaswami said, before adding “we have strengths, but the system is highly corrupt.”
Highlighting the strengths, he said “human resource is our greatest strength, followed by a stable government. Mobilisation of resources would therefore not be an issue. The weak point though is our infrastructure and logistics cost,” observed Mr. Ramaswami.
He urged the students to tap the domestic market opportunities both in the manufacturing and services sector. “One should use imagination and change the style of lobbying by being more creative. Don’t ape the West. Instead rediscover the indigenous Indian concepts and come out with compatible solution.”
