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ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
NEW DELHI, OCT 24: Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday stated that the government should reduce its stake in public sector banks to below 51 per cent to improve efficiency of this sector, dismantle Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and put inflation control first on its agenda.
Chidambaram further stated that the Prime Minister had focused only on the financial globalisation of the economy in his speech at inaugural session while ignoring other facets of globalisation such as globalisation of technology and trade.
"Globalisation of trade and technology are important pillars for growth just as financial globalisation," Chidambaram said here while addressing the luncheon session of Federation of Indian Chamber of Commmerce and Industry (Ficci) annual meeting here.
In a veiled attack on the ruling party for its attitude during its days in the Opposition, Chidambaram said that there was rhetoric against liberalisation and globalisation throughout the last six years.
Today, he added,there is however greater realisation of the need to delicense and deregulate.
Citing examples of rhetoric against financial globalisation particularly with reference to the opening up of the insurance sector and privatisation of private sector banks, Chidambaram said: "Those who defeated the Insurance Regulatory Bill have realised that they were wrong and are now willing to concede 26 per cent stake to foreign companies in the insurance sector."
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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