The delegation including industry minister Sikander Bakht, communications and information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj, minister for surface transport Thambi Durai, several senior Indian government officials and influential members of the Indian business community is here to address the Indian infrastructure summit, part of the development congress.

Reiterating that India's economic reforms were irreversible, Bakht said "we have not only continued the reform process which is already in place but imparted to it, if I may say so, a `turbo-charged' momentum."

Pointing to the vast opportunities available for foreign investors, Thambi Durai said," India has identified 13,000 km long stretch for developing expressways at an investment of $20 billion the next 10 to 15 years." Thepossibilities are no less attractive to develop new ports and expand existing ones, he added.

Highlighting India's potential in the information technology (IT) and telecom sector, Swaraj said," it has been identified as a major thrust area by the Government of India." Government intended to make India a super power in it by turn of the century, Swaraj said.

Referring to the opportunities in the telecom industry, she said India's policies were geared to facilitate change. "It is not only to ensure availability of basic telephone services all over the country at affordable prices but also to ensure that our telecommunications industry becomes capable of providing world class service," she said.

Swaraj also said India was considering to allow access to internet through authorised cable television network. Thambi Durai said India was striving to achieve results commensurate with its size and potential.

India's private sector initiative offered exceptional freedom for investment, entry, financing andchoice of technology, he said. Bakht said, " there is a vigorous emphasis now on deregulation, disinvestment, infrastructure building and technology upgradation."

Earlier responding to critics who pointed that the pace of clearance of projects in India was very slow compared to China, Swaraj said," when a massive effort to introduce liberalisation to supplant a regime of controls is launched initial teething problems are bound to be there and our government is doing its best to overcome them.