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Over 1 billion people from different ethnic backgrounds, speaking
different languages and professing different faiths within one national
border would be difficult to govern using a liberal democratic system. How
can they all have a national identity? How can you create new jobs to keep
pace with population growth? India has made huge advances in agriculture,
engineering, information technology, pharmaceuticals, defence industry and
nuclear technology. It runs a railway network that baffles the Europeans
including the British. Its cities, like Bombay, run a “tiffyn” meal
delivery system that even DHL, Fedex and UPS cannot comprehend!
Yet, India is a sleeping giant that continues to struggle with the
immense task of exploiting its full ‘human’ potential. Almost 60
million of its children receive inadequate schooling and yet it has
millions of qualified graduates who are underemployed or employed in
menial tasks. Why has it not produced affordable domestic appliances that
use biogas or solar energy? Why does it not have wind farms generating and
supplying energy to the poor rural populations? Why does it tolerate its
inefficient bureaucracy that so infuriates its own citizens, foreign
tourists and investors? It sustains the culture of “who you know” not
"what you know". It infects all levels of economic and social
life.
Bollywood is a great success story from India – why is science
and technology lagging behind?
India’s distinguished Prime Minister, Mr. Vajpayee, has planted
the seeds of change. He has begun the economic liberalisation by opening
sectors for domestic and foreign investment; he has endeavoured with calm
and patience to contain political difficulties in Gujarat and Kashmir.
India’s Prime Minister must continue to roll back the power of the
bureaucrats. He must help
create an open market where competition drives demand so that the buyer
has the choice of goods and services he wants at the time and place he
desires.
The European Commission has adopted a five year strategy for India,
which will make €225 million (£170m) available for development and
economic co-operation. The principal objective of this strategy is to
assist India to build its “human capital” by dedicating its resources
to making elementary education universal, improving health services for
deprived population groups, and restoring and safeguarding a healthy
environment.
I am delighted to say that, as a Member of the European
Parliament’s Committee for Industry, External Trade, Research &
Energy, I drafted and submitted the Parliament’s opinion on the EU/India
Technical and Economic Co-operation Agreement confirming the importance of
such collaboration and specifying the areas of special attention.
The EU co-operation programme in India will focus on the following
areas:
- Investing
resources in a ‘partnership for progress’, initially with one
Indian state committed to reducing poverty by pursuing a social and
economic reform agenda.
- Working
with Indian authorities to unlock the full potential of India’s
economy through regulatory reform, privatisation and fiscal reform.
This will help India achieve better returns on its vast economic
assets.
- Facilitate
the exchange of talented students, scholars and scientists between
India and the EU so that we can create joint projects in research
& development, especially in the fields of energy e.g. biogas,
biofuel, wind and solar.
Gujarat has recently suffered from natural disasters, civil unrest
and loss of investor confidence. It has a population that offers a wide
range of skills, including entrepreneurial skills. There are many who are
poor, disadvantaged and victims of the recent disasters. The men and women
of Gujarat, irrespective of religion and caste, are eager and willing to
collaborate with any State Government initiative that could allow them to
tap into the kind of assistance offered by the EU. There are scholarships
on offer, as well as technical and scientific expertise in pharmaceutical,
engineering and agricultural fields.
The state of Gujarat could benefit from this EU help as its
programme covers improved governance through devolution in decisions and
management. It encourages participation of stakeholders, especially women,
and traditionally disadvantaged sectors of the population. Further
information on this programme is available online at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relation/india/intro/index.htm
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