CII meeting stresses core sector growth

Infrastructure development leads to a multiplier effect on the economy" said Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil while addressing a session on "Harnessing Public Private Partnerships on Infrastructure Development", organised by the CII chapter of Rajasthan here last week.

She said quality infrastructure was the foundation of economic, industrial and social development.

Addressing the session, Patil said that while it was important to look at urban infrastructure, like connectivity, power, energy, water etc, it was equally vital to work on educational infrastructure.

She said to transform resources into mega projects, quality human resource is of paramount importance and thus the need for educational infrastructure.

Speaking on the occasion Usha Punia, Rajasthan's minister for state for tourism, stressed the importance of public-private partnership for the development of infrastructure in tourism. She also spoke on the initiatives of the government to harness tourism infrastructure by promoting budget hotels in the state.

She also mentioned that the new hotel policy would be out by July 2006. "In recent years, public-private partnerships have evolved as the most successful model to expedite delivery systems and ensure faster growth and development," she sasid.

Ajay Shriram, chairman, CII Northern Region, said a sound physical connectivity of Rajasthan was vital for the economy and it was a pre-requisite for the much-desired industrial growth.

"Besides, it will facilitate and sustain potential services growth as well as provide impetus to tourism. A world-class dry port, which will be the gateway to Rajasthan and to the other Northern states, needs to be set up," he said. He also voiced the need for power sector reforms

Amrit Pandurangi, executive director, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, said last 2 years had seen private-public partnerships as the "default" option for development.

He mentioned that today, PPPs were less than 1% of total investments in infrastructure.

He added that there were four key sectors for infrastructure development - urbanisation, tourism, connectivity and water distribution.

RK Poddar, chairman, Rajasthan State Council, spoke at length about several initiatives taken by the CII Rajasthan chapter in 2005-06 to strengthen the policy work at the state level, by focusing on issues affecting the Rajasthan industry.