Home Minister P Chidambaram today said India would be a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in the current decade.
Presenting a scenario for India and its corporate sector in the decade that has just begun, Chidambaram said it would be even more exciting than the one that went by.
“The last decade was a decade of remarkable turnaround; this will be even more exciting. We will become part of the UN Security Council. If in the last decade, after China, we were the biggest contributor to global growth, this decade, with a little bit of luck, we could surpass China,” he said.
The home minister’s forecast comes in the wake of India’s persistent lobbying with the UN members for a permanent Security Council seat.
Addressing a gathering of business leaders after handing over the awards at the 11th Business Standard Awards ceremony at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, Chidambaram said this decade many Indian companies could become truly global, like Larsen and Toubro and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. The current decade offered great opportunity to both young chief executives and established players to excel and build on their reputation.
The home minister, however, said while opportunities were great, the challenges were greater. Outlining a three-point agenda for action, he said there was an urgent need to make India a secure place so that the country’s economic growth remained unimpeded.
Chidambaram, who moved across the North Block corridor from the finance ministry to the home ministry after the 26/11 terror attacks, flagged security as the other focus area. “We must gain an upper hand over the Maoists and in the fight against terror. We are engaged in both tasks and you will see a difference in two-three years,” he said.
Financial sector reforms, which were given top billing three-four years ago, should be accorded top priority once again, he said. “I have to lament that financial sector reforms have taken a back seat but it must be top of the agenda and the demand should come from business and industry.”
He pointed out that a few years ago a committee headed by Percy Mistry had recommended ways to make Mumbai a financial centre, while a roadmap for financial sector reforms had also been prepared by a committee headed by Raghuram Rajan, former chief economist with the International Monetary Fund.
Chidambaram said the biggest challenge before the government and the electorate was to cleanse the Indian political system and ensure criminals did not get elected to the legislature. “We do not need geniuses to come to Parliament… But we need honest, law abiding and decent people to come to Parliament. Just as bad money drives good money, criminals and thugs drive away good people.”
